MRRN: Volume 3
by WinterWolf29
Summary: The Vytal Tournament has started and Team MRRN takes part. However, they are unprepared for figures from their pasts that come back into their lives, figures that bring up troubled memories for each of them. While they deal with them, the Iron Knights and their allies begin to put a plan in motion that will lead to tragedy and breaking peace between the Four Kingdoms.
1. End of the Year

**RWBY: MRRN**

 **VOLUME 3, CHAPTER 1: End of the Year**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

 **This is a continuation of MRRN: Volume 2. If you have not read it, I'd strongly recommend you do so.**

Today marked the end of the year. For Teams RWBY, MRRN, and JNPR, it meant that they had made it and were well on their way to becoming future Huntsmen and Huntresses.

"It's the end of the year!" Ruby cheered as she and all of her friends were in the Beacon courtyard. "No more homework! No more boring classes! Now we can do whatever we want!"

"Don't let one of those things be turning your brain to mush," Weiss replied. "We should not forget about our studies, to read up on topics from last year."

"Lame," Yang responded. "I've been cooped up here for a long time and I am dying to go out on Bumblebee."

"Why don't we all go out?" Jaune suggested. "Twelve friends, going around Vale, to celebrate the end of the year."

"I'm on board," Math agreed. "It'd certainly be a great way to spend time together before the Tournament starts."

"I'm looking forward to the tournament!" Nora cheered. "I can't wait to break peoples' legs!"

"Nora, we can only break their Aura in the tournament," Ren reminded. "Intentionally harming an opponent without an Aura could result in severe consequences."

"I wouldn't mind going up against Team SSSN," Nasser spoke.

"Why do you hate Sun so much?" Blake asked the knife user.

"Because at least once a week, he still steals from us," he informed. "Yesterday, he stole an envelope from me, something I want to send to my family. I swear, Ass Wukong has no sense of privacy."

"Ass Wukong?" Ruo questioned his teammate. "As much as I dislike him too, let's not stoop to name calling."

"I'll stop calling him names when he stops stealing our stuff," Nasser responded. "I swear, he just loves getting on my nerves."

"Come on, he's not that bad," Blake defended. "Yes, his kleptomaniac tendencies are…very annoying and he is a bit of a bonehead, but his heart's in the right place." Nasser sighed in annoyance.

"So, is everyone on board about heading out tonight?" Jaune asked.

"Twelve friends going out on the town," Yang stated. "Sounds like fun to me."

"How do we plan to get around?" Robin asked. "We've only a motorcycle and a car that can hold up to five people."

"We use the transports, I guess," Math suggested. "Nothing wrong with walking."

"All in favor of having an end of the year celebration by going out on the town, say 'aye'," Ruby spoke.

"None of us will say 'aye', Ruby," Weiss replied. "But I think this would be a good idea…just as long as none of our couples make out in public."

"No promises," both Yang and Math said at the same time, making Ruo and Pyrrha blush.

"Math, darling, perhaps it would be best to not make out in public," the redhead suggested.

"Make out in public?" Math asked. "No…but kissing…" He wrapped an arm around Pyrrha's waist and brought her lips to his, making her give a small yelp. Upon breaking away from her, she blushed with a huge smile on her face.

"Seriously?" Ruby whined. "Why do I always have to watch this stuff?"

"Hey, Ruby," Yang called out. Ruby turned around just in time to see Yang pull Ruo into a kiss as well. The reaper Huntress turned her face away in disgust of her older sister's attempts to make her uncomfortable.

"I love you so much, Ruo~" the blonde brawler spoke sweetly to him.

"Yang!" Ruby groaned.

"Have none of you any decency?" Weiss scolded Yang and Mathdon. "I'd expect this from Yang, but from you, Mathdon…"

"I'm not afraid to show my affections for my girlfriend," the swordsman replied, making Pyrrha blush once more before snuggling up to her boyfriend.

"So what time should we head out?" Blake asked, much to everyone's surprise.

"You're on board with this?" Weiss asked. "I thought you'd be against it."

"You're my friends," the Cat Faunus responded. "If everyone wants to go, then…I'll do it."

"In that case, why not 6:30?" Robin suggested. "We could meet at the docks."

"That sounds fair," Pyrrha agreed. "I'm looking forward to it."

The evening rolled around and the three teams of friends were getting ready for their night out. As discussed earlier, everyone would meet at the docks where the transport would take them to the city. Team MRRN was the first team there, waiting for the others.

"Hey, guys," Yang greeted as she and her teammates got onto the dock. She walked over to Ruo and planted a kiss on his lips before leaning against his arm. They were quickly followed by Team JNPR, with Pyrrha approaching her boyfriend and kissing him.

"So, what do you guys want to do first?" Ruby asked.

"I know a good Faunus friendly restaurant," Robin informed. "This time, I made sure it was Faunus friendly."

"Meaning?" Weiss questioned.

"The night of the Vytal Committee, we went to a restaurant called Burnies'," Math informed. "A bunch of guys started harassing Ruo and we tried to stop them."

"Yeah, then the manager told US to get out and threatened to call the cops," Nasser added. "What a fun experience."

"This time, I went to the place myself," Robin explained. "I made sure it was Faunus friendly. We don't want a repeat of last time." The transport came into sight and opened its door, allowing the twelve students to enter.

-0-

"You guys really fought a Tyrannosaur?" Nora asked excitedly at the large round table the friends were sitting in, eating away at the fries in the basket.

"Yeah," Math answered. "Professor Kura didn't lie; that thing's armor is tough. The tech the Iron Knights had were Atlesian, including their artillery…and even they couldn't penetrate its armor. That thing is a nightmare!"

"How did you beat it?" Blake asked.

"Well, its only vulnerable area is its underbelly," Ruo explained. "Ruadh and I took one of their tanks and shot its underbelly several times before we managed to kill it…though that's what caused the tunnel to collapse on us. We got into a tank just in time."

"Wow, sounds like you guys had quite an adventure," Jaune spoke.

"After that, we fought a Grootslang Grimm," Robin continued their story. "Looked like a snake with elephant tusks…it was one of the toughest fights in my life."

"Yeah," Math chuckled in agreement. "The endless Cocodrils certainly didn't help."

"Well, it sounds like Forest certainly did," Pyrrha brought up. "I can't believe you ran into him."

"Wait," Blake spoke, sipping some of her tea. "You know him, right, Math?"

"Yeah," the swordsman answered. "He was my mentor. He helped me make my weapons."

"And he's a badass!" Nasser added. "Is he taking any apprentices right now?"

"No," Math bluntly responded after drinking some of his sweet tea. "He's busy right now. Plus…I don't think Ozpin likes him."

"What makes you say that?" Pyrrha asked.

"Well, when I spoke about him to Ozpin, Goodwitch and Ironwood, he seemed…less than happy that I brought him up," the swordsman informed. "How could he dislike Forest? He and his teammates are the reason we came back alive."

"Well, Forest didn't seem very fond of Ozpin either," Ruo brought up.

"Speaking of Ozpin, have you heard about what happened?" Ruby interrupted. "He could lose his position as Headmaster."

"What?" Pyrrha asked. "Why?"

"Apparently, Ironwood turned the Council against him," Weiss answered. "I don't know all the details, but the General is now in charge of the Vytal Tournament."

Team MRRN had a pretty good idea of why Ironwood would turn against Ozpin. He had sent two first-year teams on missions that they were not ready for. This resulted in the Grimm invading Vale and the death of Alan Kura. He had kept vital information from the Council of enemies that were threatening the kingdom.

On the other hand, it worried some of the students present. Math, Ruo, Jaune, Blake, and Ruby only got into Beacon because Ozpin allowed it. If a new Headmaster was chosen, he or she could find the circumstances of their entry illegitimate and have them expelled or arrested.

"Let's hope Professor Ozpin isn't removed," Ren insisted.

"Agreed," Ruby answered. "I like him." Robin felt like glaring at her, but fought the urge to do so.

" _The only reason you like him is because he practically lets you off the hook every time you do something,"_ the archer responded.

"You okay, Rob?" Math asked his cousin.

"I'm fine," he assured with a cocky smile. "I'm happy that the nightmare of telling Nasser how to read a menu is over."

"I know to read a menu," the knife user responded.

"No, you don't," Yang bluntly spoke. Just then, three waiters came with large trays, holding their dinners. Each of them were handed out one by one, ending with Yang receiving her dish.

"After we're done here, would you guys be up for a movie?" Pyrrha asked. "Some are still playing at the theater. Plus, it's not far from here."

"What movie did you have in mind?" Math asked his girlfriend.

"What about that new action movie, Guardians: Eternity War?" Pyrrha suggested. "I know you've been wanting to see it. Plus, it's pretty popular right now." Math's smile stretched into a goofy, fanboy grin.

"I've been wanting to see that movie so bad," he confessed. "It looks so awesome!"

"What about that new horror movie…Dog Rain?" Ruby asked with a poor creepy tone. "It's about a town that gets rained on with adorable puppies."

"Are the puppies man-eating parasites?" Math asked.

"No," Ruby denied.

"Are the puppies cannibalistic?" Nora asked.

"No," the reaper Huntress denied again.

"Do the puppies turn into hideous monsters?" Jaune asked.

"No."

"Do the puppies eat the people in horrendous ways?" Yang asked.

"No." Everyone looked at the leader of Team RWBY with a look of question and confusion.

"Then…what's scary about it?" Pyrrha asked.

"They don't get to keep the puppies," Ruby answered with tear-filled eyes. "How can the world be so cruel?" Some of them laughed at Ruby's silliness while the others groaned in annoyance.

"Nah, tell you what," Yang offered. "Me, Ruo, Math and Pyrrha go see one movie while you all go see another."

"Why?" Weiss asked.

"Yang wants that so we can make out without any of you complaining," Ruo snarked. "We could save that for a date night."

"Okay," Yang responded, laying her head on Ruo's shoulder. "After all, tonight's about friends, not being in couples."

"Which is why you've been constantly trying to get Ruo alone?" Blake asked her teammate.

"Hey, I'm his girlfriend," Yang justified. "I can have alone time with him if I want…and if he wants it." Ruo chuckled and placed a small peck on his girlfriend's forehead.

"I'm honestly more up for Galaxy Wars: The Last Knight," Jaune spoke up. "I heard it's good."

"What?" Nasser questioned. "I've seen the previews for it; it looks like crap to me."

"Everyone's always complaining about it," Jaune stated. "I mean, it doesn't live up to the original trilogy, but I think it's good."

"I've got one," Blake suggested. "It's a movie called Half Moon."

"Is that the one where that girl hooks up with a vampire?" Robin asked the Cat Faunus.

"That's the one," Blake confirmed. Some of them gave out a groan in reply.

"I've seen the first movie," Math informed. "The title of it should be '101 Ways for a Vampire to mess up a girl's life'."

"It's not that bad," the black-themed member of Team RWBY defended.

"A normal girl's life is turned upside down when a vampire falls in love with her for no reason other because she 'smells good," Math stated with a snarky tone. "Stuff about hormones, he gets her stuck in some crap love triangle with a dog guy, kisses both of them, despite them being whiny assholes…Sounds fun." Blake glared at the autistic swordsman, who was wearing a proud grin of bashing the movie.

"What about an actual horror movie, A Silent House?" Weiss suggested. "It's about children who are left in the care of a nanny who appears kind and caring. However, it turns out-"

"Don't spoil it," Nora interrupted.

"Very well," Weiss replied. "So, if we're up for a movie after this, we should decide which one to see."

"Well, my vote's already for Guardians: Eternity War," Math spoke up.

The dinner passed by for them very well, enjoying conversations about the previous year, their hopes for the future and their plans for after graduating.

"What do you plan on doing once you graduate, Math?" Pyrrha asked.

"Maybe work with the team for a few years if they're up for it," the leader of Team MRRN answered.

"Sounds like a plan," Ruo agreed. "Of course, that shouldn't stop us from working with the others when we want."

"Of course not," Yang spoke. "Friendships like ours last forever."

"What about you, Pyrrha?" Math addressed. "What do you plan on doing after graduation?"

"Perhaps head home to Mistral for a while," she answered. "And I'd enjoy if you came with me to meet my family."

"Sounds awesome," Math agreed, receiving a warm smile from his girlfriend.

"Guys," Weiss sternly reminded. "Friends' night."

After finishing their meals, they decided to pay for them separately. Pyrrha offered to pay for everyone, but Math stopped her from doing so since she was already paying for Nora and Ren.

"So, what about dessert?" Nora asked.

"Dessert!" Ruby cheered. "Hopefully, they have cookies here."

"If you want it, then okay," Yang responded. "Remember; you're paying for yourself." Ruby's energetic smile quickly faded away, knowing she wouldn't have enough money to buy both dessert here and get a movie ticket.

"We can always buy and share at the theater," Robin suggested. "That is, if we're still up for the movie." Heavy footsteps were heard from outside the window near their table, prompting them to look outside to see Atlesian Knights on patrol.

"I hate those stupid tin cans," Yang groaned. "Let's not run into them."

"Why not?" Ruby asked her sister.

"Those stupid robots do a whole identity check of whatever on students," the blonde brawler explained. "The last time I tried to go somewhere, they asked all these stupid questions and threatened to 'report' me to Ironwood if I refused to cooperate."

"Is Ironwood really convinced he's helping?" Pyrrha questioned. "I've been around the city lately. People feel more scared than protected with the Atlesian army here."

"Well, let's try to avoid them then," Weiss suggested. "But before we go, we should vote on a movie." Two of them voted for A Silent House, four of them voted Galaxy Wars: The Last Knight, and six voted for Guardians: Eternity War.

"Guardians, it is," Pyrrha decided. "Let's go." Everyone got up from the table and made their way to the theater, which was only a few blocks from the restaurant. Robin used his Semblance to make sure that there were no Atlesian Knights on their way. Luckily, they made it without running into them, not wanting to deal with them.

"Hello," the employee at the ticket booth welcomed. "How many?"

"Twelve," Math answered.

"Are you Huntsmen?" the employee asked, noticing the weapons they were carrying.

"We don't plan to start any trouble," Ren assured. "We're here to see Guardians: Eternity War."

"Before I let you in, it's policy that Huntsmen leave their weapons after entering the theater," the employee informed. "Refusal to do so will result in you being denied entry."

"What?" Ruby and Yang asked, not wanting to part with Crescent Rose and Ember Celica.

"Guys," Ruo spoke to his girlfriend and her younger sister. "It's only for two hours. Then we come out and get them back." The two girls groaned in begrudging compliance.

"Another thing," the employee added. "The Faunus is not allowed in here." Everyone turned to glare at the ticket employee.

"What?" Yang asked. "You can't be serious! He's done nothing wrong!"

"Ma'am, these are our rules," the employee replied sternly. "No Faunus allowed. No exceptions."

"He's been fighting to protect people like you!" Math barked. "You're telling me that just because he's a Faunus, you're not going to let him in!?"

"No Faunus allowed," the employee repeated before closing the blinds on the glass.

"Hey!" Yang shouted. "Open these blinds! I'm not done talking to you!" There was no response from inside.

"What is with people like you?!" Math shouted at the employee. "You judge him for something he couldn't control! You have no idea what it's like for people like u- him!" He was about to say 'us', but stopped himself.

"Math, please calm down," Pyrrha told her boyfriend. He looked at her, taking several breaths before he was calmed.

"This is unbelievable," Weiss growled. "To think I supported prejudice against Faunus."

"Well, so much for a movie," Nasser groaned. "Next time, let's check to see if it's Faunus friendly."

"Yeah," Jaune agreed. "Let's head back to Beacon. We don't have to watch a movie here. We can watch one at one of our dorms."

"Sounds good," Math agreed. "But first, maybe we could stop by somewhere and pick up some stuff for the movie."

The twelve friends stopped by a convenient store and bought chips, drinks, sweets, and anything they wanted. They agreed to go to Team RWBY's dorm to watch the movie 'The Guardians of the Stars'.

-0-

"How did Nora get coffee?!" Pyrrha questioned partway through the movie. Somehow, Nora had managed to sneak buy some coffee and drink all of it. She was now bouncing around Team RWBY's dorm like a bouncy ball, yelling all kinds of stuff as she did.

"PyrrhaandMathdonaresocutedon'tyouthinkRenImeannotascuteasusbutwe'restillverycutetogetherrighteveryonewouldagreewiththatYanghowareyoufeelingsincewecouldn'tseethemoviewithRuobeingaFaunusandall!"

"Oh, dear God," Ruo groaned. "Nora! Sit down and calm down!"

"I'msofullofenergyrightnowIcan'tstopIdon'twanttostop!" Everyone then ran around trying to catch Nora, but she was surprisingly very quick, almost as fast as Ruby's Semblance.

"Dammit, someone catch her!" Yang shouted, her eyes turned red in frustration.

A thought struck Pyrrha; Nora must have some kind of metal on her. Instead of continuing to chase after her, she held out her hand and activated her Semblance. Nora immediately stopped as a black outline emitted from her belt, allowing Math and Yang to grab her. Even after being caught, Nora still tried to leap around like a maniac, much to everyone's frustration.

"How do we calm her down?" Ruo asked Ren.

"Nora is always calmed by pancakes," the ninja informed. "Hold on. I'll go make some."

"Are you joking?" Nasser growled. "We'd have to tie down Nora just to get her to stop moving around!"

"Then do it!" Ren insisted. "I'll be back in several minutes. Make sure she doesn't leave." He then left the dorm to head down to the kitchen.

"Does anyone have tape?" Yang asked. "We can't hold her forever!"

"Hold on," Nasser replied. He then used his Semblance to hurry to his team's dorm, get in, get out and return with a roll of duct tape.

"Tie her up!" Math instructed.

"Don't you think this is excessive?" Blake asked Yang.

"Blake, look at her," the blonde brawler responded. "She is out of control right now."

"So, right now, 'excessive' doesn't exist," Math agreed. Nasser quickly taped Nora's hand and legs, which allowed Math and Yang to let her go.

"How can someone so small hold so much energy?" Yang questioned as she caught her breath.

"Big things come in small packages," Math told her. In the matter of a few minutes, Ren returned with the pancakes. Upon seeing Nora tied up with duct tape, he used a knife to cut her free before handing the plate of pancakes to her, which she started mowing down.

"No more coffee for Nora from now on," Jaune insisted. After being sure Nora was under control, they resumed the movie.

-0-

"Well, tonight was quite a night," Robin spoke after they completed the movie. "I definitely call this a great End of the School Year celebration."

"I'm right there with you, pal," Math agreed. "I just wish things could've gone differently at the theater."

"The day that there's equality for Faunus will be a day I'll celebrate all day long," Blake spoke.

"All of us will," Pyrrha told Blake. "Are you in agreement, Ruo?" There was no response. Ruby took count of everyone present, realizing that out of the twelve of them, only ten were present; Ruo and Yang were nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Ruo and Yang?" Weiss asked, looking around. Her question was answered when the closet burst open and Yang tumbled on top of Ruo. Everyone quickly turned their attention to them, either with surprise or annoyance in their expressions.

They had snuck away and started making out.

"She started it," Ruo claimed.

"You went along with it," Yang shot back. She got up, allowing the White Tiger Faunus to get onto his feet as well.

"Do that in our own dorm," Weiss scolded her hotheaded teammate. Yang stuck her tongue out at her.

-0-

"Tonight was quite a night," Math told his teammates when they were in his dorm. "Besides that mess at the theater, everything went great."

"Next up, the Vytal Tournament," Nasser brought up. "I'm hoping we get to go up against Team SSSN."

"It's not up for anyone to decide," Ruo told Nasser. "The process is randomized now."

"Randomized?" he asked. "Why?"

"In past years, since everyone knew who they were up against, they'd sneak out at night to sabotage the other team's weapons," Robin informed. "To prevent that from happening, the process is completely randomized now."

"Still, I hope I get to wipe that smirk off Sun Wukong's face," the knife user confessed. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to hit the sack." He crawled under the covers of his bed and closed his eyes, going to sleep.

One by one, each of them crawled under the covers with Ruo turning off the main light.

Their first year at Beacon was over. There was no telling what the future would hold in store for them.


	2. Unexpected and Unwelcome

**RWBY: MRRN**

 **VOLUME 3, CHAPTER 2: Unexpected and Unwelcome**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

Robin was driving through the streets of Vale with his beautiful girlfriend, Coco Adel. They hadn't spent much time together for a while and had decided to spend the day together. Where they went didn't matter to them…even though Coco's first stop was at the mall, shopping for new clothes. She definitely lived up to her reputation as a fashionista.

"So, Robin, anywhere you'd like to go?" she asked from the passenger seat. "I know you said you've been wanting to see some of those new arrows in stock."

"Yeah, I think an ammo store isn't too far from here," the archer informed. "Let's go." He turned the car at an intersection and drove down the road, looking for the store.

"Are you looking forward to the Vytal Tournament?" Robin asked his girlfriend.

"Sure am," Coco answered. "I hope my team goes up against someone good."

"Nasser's hoping we get to go up against Team SSSN," the archer informed. "He really doesn't like Sun or Neptune. Sun gets on all our nerves because he's a kleptomaniac, but Neptune…I don't see why Nasser dislikes him."

"Maybe because he's much more of a ladies' man than you," Coco teased her boyfriend.

"Hey," he chuckled. "I can hold down a relationship if I wanted to, which I am."

"That you are," the fashionista confirmed as she gently pecked his cheek. Robin pulled up to a parking lot belonging to a shop called "Come Get Your Ammo". After parking, he got out of the car and opened Coco's door for her.

"Well, aren't you a gentleman~?" she asked flirtatiously.

"All men in my family are gentlemen," Robin replied. "Look no further for a man who'll treat a woman well."

"I believe it, especially with Math and Pyrrha's relationship," Coco spoke. "How are they doing?"

"They're very serious now," he answered with a proud smile. "Who knows? At the rate those two are going, it may not be long before Aunt Corcra has a grandchild on the way." Coco raised an eyebrow in reply.

"You really think they're that serious?"

"Are you kidding?" Robin asked her. "Outside of class, training and our own guy time, they can barely stay apart from each other. I'm happy for him."

A thought came to Coco's mind. She and Robin had been dating for months now and she had also fallen hard for him. If they were to 'hit home run'…she certainly wouldn't be opposed to it.

They entered the store and were immediately greeted by the sight of all kinds of ammo. Regular bullets, Dust bullets, tech bullets, arrows, crossbow bolts, even several devices that generate blasts, similar to Neptune's gun.

"Here they are!" Robin called as he walked over to the specific tech arrows that he had been looking for. "These are the new arrows I've been wanting."

"Don't you already have those kinds of arrows?" Coco asked her boyfriend.

"No, I only have Dust arrows," he informed as he held one of them. "These types of arrows are like grapples, sticky bombs, tear gas, even kinetically charged."

"Kinetically charged?" the fashionista asked.

"You longer you hold the arrow, the more energy it builds up," Robin explained. "When you release it, it can pack a very big punch."

"Sounds useful," Coco replied. "Well, I'm going to check if they have my ammo for my weapon." She walked off to the bullet section, hoping to find some for her weapon since she had been using up quite a bit.

Robin examined the arrows in front of him, wondering which ones he'd want to get. He had never used them before, so he'd need time to learn how to use them properly. Before he could reach for another one-

"You!" a voice growled, belonging to none other than Dearg. "You're the bitch I saw with my brother at Monty's!"

"Excuse me!?" Coco shot back, prompting Robin to look for her. "You ruined our date and threatened him just because you won't take responsibility for what you've done!"

"You don't know a damn thing!" he shouted. "You don't know anything about me, my brother, or anything!"

"He told me what happened," Coco responded. "About your team and everything that happened afterwards."

"He called the cops on me," Dearg claimed. "His own brother."

"Because you were stealing from your parents," the fashionista added. By now, Robin had found them and it looked like Dearg was very close to attacking Coco.

"Leave her alone!" Robin shouted as he stepped between them. "Why can't you just leave us alone?!"

"Because you betrayed me!" Dearg growled. "You were my brother and you let the cops take me in!"

By now, Robin was extremely tired of hearing that. He was tired of Dearg putting all the blame on him for HIS choice to throw everything away, for him choosing to start drinking and abusing him, even after his parents got on him. He was at his wits' end with him.

"The only reason you're in this position now is because you won't take a shred of responsibility for what you've done!" Robin shouted. "I am damn tired of you always putting all the blame on me for everything happened!"

"You don't know what I've been through," Dearg lowly spoke. "You don't know what it was like to watch every member of my team die out there."

"So you decide to take it out on me!" the archer barked. "You then tried to sabotage my chances of becoming a Huntsman by spreading lies-"

"Because I didn't want you to get killed!" Dearg confessed. Robin's anger halted upon hearing that from his brother. He saw a tear fall down his cheek.

"I…I didn't want to see you come home in a body bag like my teammates did," Dearg went on. "I…"

"Then what about all the crap you put me through?" Robin questioned, not being convinced by Dearg. "What about the name calling, the abuse, all that stuff? Was that all just trying to protect me or just you wasting your life away?"

There was no response from Dearg. Robin clenched his fists tightly as his brother just stood there, not giving him an answer.

"Get out of here," he demanded before turning around to walk away. He heard a growl before he felt a hand grabbed his wrist and then throw him into the shelves, causing a loud crash. Dearg got onto his brother and started punching him.

"Get off him!" Coco demanded as she grabbed Dearg by the throat and threw him off of Robin. The archer slowly got up and glared at his brother.

"You say you wanted to protect me from coming home in a body bag and then you attack me!?" Robin shouted. "Make up your mind!" Just then, he noticed something going on with Dearg, something he hadn't seen before. He was groaning in pain as he clenched his left arm, which both Robin and Coco immediately knew what it meant.

"Oh, God," Robin whispered. "Is he having a heart attack!?"

"He is," Coco confirmed. "I'll call for an ambulance."

Within ten minutes, an ambulance had arrived and placed Dearg on a stretcher before placing him inside the vehicle. The owner of the shop explained what happened, that Dearg had come into his shop, had an argument with Robin, and then attacked him. Robin, thought hesitant, confirmed the story and once again, pressed charges against him before the vehicle departed.

While Coco went in the car, Robin stayed outside, He took out his scroll and dialed a number, then placed it next to his ear. It rang a few times before it answered to his dad's voice.

" _Hey, son,"_ Anrydd greeted. _"How are you doing?"_

"Hey, dad," Robin replied. "I saw Dearg again today." He heard a sigh over his scroll.

" _What did he do this time?"_ Anrydd questioned.

"He's in the hospital," Robin answered.

" _What?"_ Anrydd gasped. _"What happened?"_

"We…ran into each other," the archer informed. "We had an argument, he attacked me and then he had a heart attack. Charges were already pressed against him."

" _I can't believe this,"_ Anrydd groaned. _"Did they say which hospital he's being taken to?"_

"Vale Main," Robin answered.

" _Very well,"_ Anrydd responded. _"I'll go see him when I have a chance."_

"Dad, he's not going to change," Robin told him, containing anger in his tone. "Let him stay there for all I care."

" _Robin, I know he hurt you and all of us, but he's still your brother,"_ his father stated. _"You don't have to visit him, but I will. I want to believe…he can change."_ Robin groaned in annoyance to his father's words. He had always trusted his father's judgment, but now…he just wanted to throw it out the window.

"Take care, Dad," he spoke before hanging up and getting in the car.

"You okay?" Coco asked her boyfriend.

"I was letting my dad know about Dearg," Robin informed. "He's going to visit him when he can."

"Are you going to?" she asked. From what she had been told by Robin, Dearg was a very troubled person due to the trauma of losing all of his teammates. Unfortunately, this trauma led to Robin being a victim of his anger and nearly lost his chances of being a Huntsman.

"No," he responded sternly. "He made his choice. He's had years to change and all he does is blame everyone else for his troubles." He started the car up and drove off, deciding to get the new arrows another time.

-0-

Nasser was only a few blocks away from his home. In his pocket was his scroll…and the envelope of Lien he had taken from the Iron Knight train. He had already counted it as around 500, which was all he had time to take, but was grateful regardless. As he came closer, so did thoughts of all how this started.

He lived in Vacuo with his family until his father died. After that, his brother, Cassim, stole the inheritance money and abandoned them to near poverty. Ever since then, he'd only call Nasser if he wanted something and refused to acknowledge his selfishness and hypocrisy.

"Nas!" a voice called out. Nasser was snapped out of his thoughts to see Octavia approaching him, making him smile.

"Hey," he greeted. "How are you doing?"

"Doing good," she replied before noticing the envelope on his hand. "What's that?"

"Lien from our mission," he answered. "The Iron Knights left some Lien out in the open, so I decided why let it go to waste…when I can give it to my family."

"Do your teammates know about this?" she asked. Nasser shook his head.

"No, they don't. I don't know if they'll scold me or not for taking Lien during the mission."

"If they know about your past, then they're sure to understand," Octavia insisted. "They're your friends."

"I know, but…" he stopped as they turned a corner. "I just…Mom's been working her ass off for years ever since Cassim took the money. The least I can do is give her this."

"I'm sure they'll appreciate this," Octavia agreed. They now approached the door to Nasser's apartment complex, reading "Sweet Home". His apartment was situated on a top floor with blinds, a white door and a front porch. Outside, an eleven year old girl with brown hair, tanned skin and green eyes was seen drawing on a table. Upon looking down, her eyes widened and a smile stretched across her face.

"Nasser!" she cheered as she rushed down the stairs and ran up to Nasser, both of them sharing a hug.

"Hey, Ezther," he greeted. "How are you doing? I see you're still drawing."

"Sure am," she replied. "How's Beacon? Do you like your teammates?"

"Yeah, they're great," Nasser answered. "How's Mom?"

"She's inside," she answered, taking her brother's hand. "Come on. Let's go see her." Ezther, Nasser and Octavia walked up the stairs to the apartment door and entered.

"Mom!" Ezther called out. "Nasser's home!"

"Nasser?" she replied. "I'll be right out." The three of them sat down on the chair and couch in the living room as they waited for Nasser's mom.

"Who are you?" Ezther asked Octavia. "Are you Nasser's girlfriend?"

"What!?" Nasser gasped. "No! We're just friends! Just friends!"

"Why are you getting all red?" Ezther asked, making Octavia giggle and annoying Nasser.

"Shut it," he told his sister. Just then, a woman about Nasser's height entered the room.

"Hey, son," she greeted.

"Hey, Mom," Nasser replied as he stood up and hugged her. "I've missed you."

"Me too," she responded. "What brings you back here?" Nasser took the envelope out of his pocket and handed it to her. She raised an eyebrow before opening it to see Lien.

"Nasser…where did you get this?" she asked.

"I found it on our mission," he answered. "You've made ends meet ever since Cassim left us. It's the least I can do." The expression on his mother's face died a little after hearing that name.

"Nasser…about Cassim…" she stopped.

"What is it?" Nasser asked in a stern tone. "What did he do?" Just then, a figure appeared from the hallway, one with tanned skin, green eyes, a mustache, and a shaved head. Nasser's eyes narrowed at the man in the apartment, immediately recognizing him as his brother.

"You!" he growled, fighting the urge to reach for his knife. "How dare you come back here! After everything you've done, you think-!?"

"Nasser, please," his mother pleaded, stopping him from stomping up to Cassim. "Please let me explain."

"Should I leave?" Octavia asked, prepared to head out.

"No, dear, that won't be necessary," she assured before gesturing for Nasser to follow her to the office room.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Nasser demanded to know. "He's the reason we live in near poverty."

"He lost the money," she explained, earning an enraged look from her son.

"He lost dad's inheritance!?" he snarled.

"He had to pay off debts, so he was forced to give the money and his home," she continued. "He was on the streets for almost a month before he came back several days ago."

"Why didn't you tell me this?" he demanded to know. "This is pretty important to know."

"I was going to tell you, but I didn't know how you'd react," she responded. "I know you don't hold a high opinion of him."

"Because he betrayed us!" Nasser reminded her. "On top of that, he'd always accuse me of being selfish, yet he never acknowledged his own choices. He doesn't deserve to be here."

"He said he'd change," his mom claimed. "I feel like I have to give him a chance. It's what your father would've wanted."

"Dad would've wanted Cassim to bring the money back for us, not hoard it for himself," Nasser claimed. "How are we supposed to know he's not just going to leave us again?"

"He promised to try," his mom replied. "I want this family to stay together. Please…you don't have to like Cassim. All I ask is that you be open to him changing."

Nasser let out a low growl. The last thing he wanted to think about was his brother possibly betraying them again. For years, Cassim had earned Nasser's enmity due to his selfishness, greed and hypocrisy. He kept saying the money was his when he had stolen it from the family. He had abandoned them.

"Don't hold your breath, Mom," Nasser responded. "If he wants MY trust, then he's going to earn it. People don't change in an instant."

"Maybe not, but I believe we should give him a chance," his mom insisted. "We're having lunch soon, so why don't you and your girlfriend join us?" Nasser's face turned red.

"She's not my girlfriend, Mom," he denied, making her chuckle.

"Nasser, I remember her," she stated. "You were always sweet on Octavia." Nasser groaned a little in response.

"Whatever, Mom," he replied. The two left the room to see Cassim, Ezther and Octavia talking. Cassim noticed Nasser and their mother approaching, smiled and hugged his brother.

"It's good to be home," he greeted. It took all of Nasser's willpower not to reach for his knife.

-0-

"So, what exactly are we making tonight?" Math asked Pyrrha as they walked out of the market store, carrying bags of ingredients.

"It's a recipe from Mistral," she informed. "Gyros, kreatopita, moussaka, lokma…" She turned to look at her boyfriend to see that he still had no idea what she was talking about.

"I'll show you," she explained. "After all, we'll be cooking together tonight."

"Sounds great," Math agreed as they started to cross the street. As they did, they saw more Atlesian Knights walking down the street, their firearms ready. Both of the students had a sour look on their faces after seeing them.

"I get the General is trying to keep people safe, but they don't feel that way," the redhead said. "They're scared."

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed," Math told his girlfriend. "On a side note, isn't he giving some kind of speech tomorrow?"

"About the new Vytal Tournament rules," Pyrrha informed. "He'll be addressing some new changes or telling the new students how the tournament works."

"We already know how it works," the swordsman protested. "Teams of four, then doubles, then singles. If your Aura drops beneath 10%, you're out of the battle."

"But not everyone knows about the randomization process and why we have it," she added. "Since he's in charge of the tournament this year, he may want to run it the way Atlas would."

"Hopefully not EXACTLY as Atlas would," Math hoped as they walked by a Dust store receiving new shipments of Dust. They were unloaded from a truck with the label 'DMC", or Dorado Mining Company.

"So that's the Dust company Gaspar will inherit," the swordsman pointed out. "They've been helping out stores around Vale since Torchwick was captured." Just then, the sight of a person getting out of the van almost made Math's heart stop. That figure had dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a broad build.

It was Math's father, Donovan. He dropped the bags onto the pavement, alerting Pyrrha.

"Math?" she asked worriedly. He looked as if he was going to have a panic attack, so she quickly grabbed him, took him around the corner, and put him against the wall.

"Close your eyes," she demanded. "Use deep breaths." Math did as she said and did his best to calm down before he could be overwhelmed by fear. After several moments of getting to calm down, Math looked Pyrrha in the eye.

"What happened out there?" she asked. "You seemed like you were going to have a panic attack." Pyrrha could see in Math's eyes that it was very serious.

"It was my father," he confessed.

Pyrrha loosened her grip on Math's shoulders after hearing that, her eyes widening a little. In all the time she had spent with him, she never thought they'd run into Donovan Katur, the man who caused Math so much pain when he should've supported him.

"Which one?" she asked.

"The one who exited the truck," he answered. "I…when I saw him, I…I never thought I'd see him again. So many memories…"

"Stop," she told him, not wanting him to relive the years of abuse his father had inflicted on him. "Let's just head back to Beacon." The swordsman turned the corner to see that the truck was gone, but the groceries he dropped were slowly being overrun by ants.

"Sorry about that," he apologized.

"Don't worry about it," she assured. "We can do this another time." She gently took Math's hand and led him away to Beacon.

The walk was quiet and silent, Math doing everything he could to process what he had seen today. He never thought he'd see his biological father again after they had cut off contact with him. He had gone over the thought that maybe he was mistaken, that he had simply seen someone that looked like his father, but wasn't.

Sadly, his gut told him there was no mistaking him. It was Donovan Katur.

" _Get your head out of your ass!"_

The memories of Donovan's abuse were slowly flooding back towards him, memories he wished could just stay buried.

" _While everyone's out there doing it right, you're still screwing up! Quit being a retard!"_

"Stop it," he mumbled under his breath quietly enough for Pyrrha not to hear. He didn't want to hear the words he had forgotten, thanks to Forest and Glaucus.

" _You'll never amount to a damn thing if you don't act right! Stop crying!"_

By now, a tear ran down Math's cheek, so he faced the ground so he wouldn't let Pyrrha see it. It seemed that it failed as he felt a hand slowly bring his face up so the stain on his face could be seen by her.

"Math…" she whispered. She took him into her dorm and sat him down on her bed.

"Pyrrha, what're you-?" She cut him off by sitting on his lap and wrapping her arms around him, hugging him. She brought his head to her chest, gently stroking his hair. She didn't say anything, only acted to make sure Math was calming down from the horrible memories of his past.

Math wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him, a few tears rolling down his cheeks from the memories of abuse that were flooding back to him. Just a glimpse was enough to make relive those horrible memories, memories he thought he had gotten over, but hadn't.

"Let it out, darling," she gently spoke. She could sense how much pain those memories were causing him and was doing what she could to calm him down…or at the least, let him get his tears out. After having the time he needed to calm down, he had regained enough sense to realize that his head was on Pyrrha's breasts, making him gasp and move away.

"Pyrrha, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-" He was cut off by a gentle kiss on his lips from Pyrrha. She then placed her hands on his head and brought him back to her.

"It's okay," she assured.

Math was blushing madly at this. His girlfriend was not uncomfortable with letting him rest his head on her breasts. He didn't want to take advantage of his girlfriend, but he couldn't help but enjoy this. When he felt completely calm, he backed away from her and she sat next to him.

"Math…will you be okay?" she asked.

"I…I honestly don't know," the autistic swordsman admitted. "I've pictured this scenario of meeting my father thousands of times ever since he left. Now that it's happened…I'm scared to death." He stood up from the bed and walked over to the door.

"Math," Pyrrha called, making him stop and turn around to look at her.

"If you need to talk to anyone about this, my door's always open," she told him. "I want to be here for you…because I love you." Math let out a deep exhale.

"I love you too, Pyrrha," he reciprocated. "And thanks." He then left the dorm to return to his own, which was empty of all his teammates. He sat down at one of the tables, opened his laptop and started typing new stories, hoping it would take his mind off what happened.

Sadly, questions surrounding Donovan took up Mathdon's thoughts. He had so many questions he wanted to ask his father.

Why would he started abusing him for something he couldn't control? Why would he lash out after HE left them? Why did he refuse to take any responsibility for the harm he had caused him and his family? Perhaps the greatest question: should he even approach his father again or do everything in his power to just forget he ever saw him?

He felt the desire to ask those questions, but he didn't know if he _needed_ to. Perhaps all he needed to do was forget everything he had seen, but a thought came to him.

All it took was a moment of seeing him to make him relive the memories, meaning he was not fully over his father's abuse. Maybe he needed to confront him, but he wouldn't do so until he had gotten second opinions from those he trusted. He just hoped that whatever decision he made, he would not regret.


	3. A Week Away

**RWBY: MRRN**

 **Volume 3, Chapter 3: A Week Away**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

 _"Thank you all for coming today,"_ Ironwood told the students gathered in the Amphitheater. _"For those of you who do not know me, I am General James Ironwood, Headmaster of Atlas Academy. I have been placed in charge of security for this Vytal Tournament by the Vale Council."_

Many of the students not from Atlas felt uncomfortable about this. When he came here, he had brought a giant army to their kingdom when the Vytal Festival was supposed to be a peaceful occasion. Everyone knew he had something to do with Ozpin's position as Headmaster being threatened, so they were being very hesitant to accept him being in charge of the Tournament.

" _Many of you know the rules of the Vytal Tournament, but for those who don't, I will go ahead and address them,"_ the Atlesian General started.

" _The Tournament is divided into three rounds: teams, doubles and singles. Age and school year do not matter; all that matters is your skill. If your team achieves victory in their battle, then you will vote for two members to move on and represent you in the doubles round. If you win again, then one of those voted will move onto the singles round. The last person standing will achieve victory for their Academy and their Kingdom."_

"He's going to pull strings so Atlas wins," Cardin suggested. "I know it."

" _Many of you are familiar with how you'd be informed of which team you'd be facing. Well, that's not happening anymore. In years past, students would sneak out at night to sabotage the opposing team's weapons. To prevent this, the Councils have decided on a randomization line-up. Regardless, if you are caught trying to sabotage another team's weapons, your team will be disqualified from the Tournament. So unless you want to be responsible for your team's disqualification, I'd suggest you play fair."_

"He's one to preach about fighting fair," Glynda thought sourly.

" _This is a tournament to test your skills against other teams around Remnant, not a fight to the death. Once your Aura is depleted, you are no longer fit for combat and you may not continue with the match. However, if you attack a student whose Aura is depleted, there will be severe consequences. You are representing your kingdoms and Academies, so I expect all of you to act your best. As long as I am in charge of security, I will not tolerate foul play of any kind from any of you, especially my own students. Are there any questions?"_ No one raised their hands in response.

" _Very well,"_ Ironwood concluded. _"The Tournament starts in one week. Make sure your team is signed onto the Tournament roster and spend what time you can on training. Thank you all for your time."_

-0-

"You saw your father!?" Ruo asked his team leader, sitting across from him on the beds. "How did this-?"

"Pyrrha and I went to the store to get ingredients to cook dinner for last night," Math explained. "On our way back to Beacon…I saw him get out of a DMC truck and I…I almost had a panic attack."

"Man," Nasser replied. "It was really that bad, huh?"

"I started remembering…all the horrible things he'd say," the swordsman went on. "I barely kept myself together before we got back."

"And now you're debating whether you should go see him or not," Ruo deduced.

"I've never felt so conflicted before," Math answered, indirectly admitting his answer to Ruo's question. "I have so many questions that I'd want to ask him. On the other hand, I feel like if I go…I'll just get myself hurt."

"Have you told your mother or Safirlas yet?" Robin asked his cousin, to which Math shook his head.

"I don't know what they'll suggest if I tell them I saw Donovan," the autistic young man responded before burying his face in his hands.

"You're not the only one dealing with a crisis right now," Nasser brought up, making everyone look at him.

"What happened?" Robin asked.

"My brother's moved in with us," he answered with a tone of controlled anger.

"Cassim?" Math asked. "He's living with you now?"

"Apparently, he got his ass in so much debt, he lost the inheritance and was homeless for almost a month until he came back to live with Mom and Ezther." He exhales heavily.

"I won't lie; I was so close to using my knife on him. He acts like nothing has happened, like he did nothing wrong."

"Perhaps, he's just trying to make a fresh start," Ruo suggested, earning a scoff from his rebellious teammate.

"Fresh start, my ass," Nasser mocked. "You don't steal money that belonged to your family, come back home and act like nothing happened. Odds are, when he gets the chance to get a crapload of Lien, he's going to run away again. He's had years to change and never once apologized for his actions." He sighed once more, trying to control his anger.

"I know my Mom's just trying to do what she feels is right, but people like Cassim don't change in an instant."

"People can change," Ruo insisted. "We're all examples of how people can change, Nasser."

"We changed because we were willing to," Math spoke. "Not everyone is open to change. They'd rather stay stuck in their ways, even if it causes more harm than good. That's how Donovan is. He left because he didn't want to admit he was wrong to treat me the way he did."

"Thank you," Nasser told his team leader. "Cassim is still the greedy, selfish hypocrite that left us in poverty!" He had shouted loud enough for his voice to bounce off the dorm walls, showing how much contempt he had for him. After he calmed, he sat back down next to Ruo.

"You saw Dearg again yesterday?" Math asked his cousin. "Again when you were with Coco?"

"Yep," the archer confirmed. "Decided to crash on our date before he started throwing accusations at me again and then punch me."

"He attacked you!?" Math gasped.

"Yep," Robin again confirmed. "Just like Donovan, he doesn't want to admit he screwed up, so he instead blames me. The only thing that stopped me from hurting him was when he had a heart attack." Everyone's eyes widened.

"He had a heart attack?" Ruo asked. "Is he okay?"

"He was taken to Vale Main Hospital," the archer informed. "My dad's going to go see him…but I'm not."

"Robin, you should go," Ruo suggested. "You told us about what happened to Dearg. He's a troubled person. Maybe he just needs-"

"What he needs to do is stop blaming me for his life going down the toilet," the archer interrupted. "I'm done giving him chances. He's no brother of mine."

Ruo's eyes widened at this complete change of character in Robin. Sure, he had some trust issues, but he was willing to see the good in people. Now, he refused to see any good in his troubled brother, something that bothered the White Tiger Faunus.

"I know perfectly well what it's like to be hurt by a family member," he reminded his teammates. "I never got the chance to reconcile with my mother. If you three have a slight chance of reconciling with your family members, I strongly suggest you take it." He then started to walk to the closet to get a towel and his bathing suit.

"Think about what I said," he insisted. "I know what it's like to not have that chance to reconcile. If you're given it, don't throw it away." He then walked out of the dorm and went on his way to the Beacon Hot Tub.

-0-

"So far, we still have nothing," Forest lamented as he sat at a corner diner table with Sterling and Ruadh. "Why would the Iron Knights suddenly halt all activity?"

"Not just the Iron Knights," Sterling pointed out. "The White Fang have also stopped their operations. They haven't been seen anywhere around the city area ever since Torchwick was captured."

"Is it possible that Torchwick could be working for her?" Ruadh suggested. "Their plan was a two-pronged attack, one led by Valkoin, the other by Torchwick."

"I highly doubt he even knows who he's truly working for," Forest responded. "Salem has always been one to use people without showing her hand to the world. I don't even think Nachtfel knows who he's truly working for either. Valkoin would never tell him anything he felt needed to stay secret."

"That's one thing he has in common with Ozpin," Ruadh insulted.

"Let's stay focused," Sterling insisted to his teammate. "Their lack of activity will make it much harder for us to find anything to follow or track."

"There has to be something we're missing," Forest suggested. "Question is, what could it be? What information are we missing?"

"Well, from the looks of it, Valkoin never interacted with the White Fang," Sterling brought up. "When I questioned some White Fang before we found Team MRRN, they never heard of him…and he had worked at Torchwick's side."

"So Salem sent Valkoin to recruit the Iron Knights," Forest deduced. "If she sent someone else to recruit Torchwick and the White Fang, then who would she send?"

"The White Fang I encountered remembered seeing some young woman with Torchwick," Sterling informed. "She could pass for a student if she wanted to from the sounds of it. She could be posing as one right now."

"Did he say what she looked like?" Forest asked the Snow Fox.

"Black hair, amber eyes, bit tall for a young woman," Sterling informed. "Other than that, he doesn't know her name, where she's from."

"Did anyone accompany her?" Ruadh asked.

"They described two more people with her," Sterling continued. "One was a female, green hair, red eyes. The other was a male, grayish-silver hair, gray eyes."

"Then it looks like we have a lead," Forest decided. "We keep an eye out for them. If we manage to do so, we'll meet up to decide how to deal with them."

"What if they're posing as students?" Sterling asked the eagle swordsman. "We can't just go and attack students when nearly all of Remnant doesn't know what they are."

"If they are, then we'll be more cautious in how we proceed," Forest answered. "Our best chance would be to lure them into a place of our choosing, but it may be difficult since we don't know what they're after."

"Do you think Team MRRN could help us?" Ruadh asked. Forest was silent for a moment in response to the bald axe wielder's question.

"I don't want to get them involved," he replied. "It's not our right to ask people to put their lives on the line for us without telling them everything they need to know. I won't do to them what Ozpin did to us."

"We're not like that," Sterling assured. "You've never kept vital information from anyone. However, considering what happened up north, they may get involved in this war, whether they like it or not."

"Well, we certainly can't count on Ozpin to tell them the truth," Ruadh growled.

"That's enough about Ozpin," Sterling told them. "Forest, what's our plan?"

"I'll stay in eagle form and patrol around the kingdom," he explained. "Ruadh, you check around the south part of Vale. Sterling, the north. If our trail leads to Beacon, then I will go alone. They may not know about my shapeshifting, so they may not know I'm there, which will give us an advantage."

"Sounds like a plan," Ruadh agreed. "But first…let's eat!" Sterling and Forest chuckled at their teammate. It was lunchtime anyway.

-0-

Ruo walked into the Beacon Hot Tub area with his towel and bathing suit. He went into the locker room to place his robes in one and then change into his bathing suit when he was sure no one was around. He looked right for a second, seeing a mirror and looked at his reflection.

He looked up his body, maimed by burns, slashes, stab wounds, and other injuries…all inflicted by his mother during his time of being forced to serve the White Fang. These were the same injuries he was desperate to hide from everyone outside of his team and Yang. He was afraid of others finding out about his past and outing him as a criminal.

He shook the thoughts out of his head and entered one of the Hot Tub rooms. The temperature stood at a constant 100 degrees, a perfect heat for him. The room was filled with steam from the heated water, clouding it in a thin fog.

He closed the door behind him and went over to some buttons on the wall. He found the one labeled 'Bubbles' and pressed it; almost immediately, the water started to bubble near the corners and center of the tub. Ruo approached and slowly put walked into the water, doing his best to ignore the initially hurting heat. When he was comfortable, he sat down and enjoyed himself.

His mind returned to his earlier conversation with his teammates, about the personal crises each of them were dealing with.

Robin's brother had once again ruined his date with Coco and then physically attacked him before suffering a heart attack. He was then taken to Vale Main Hospital, where Robin utterly refused to visit him. He understood the pain Robin was in, but he also knew that Dearg was a very troubled person from watching the deaths of his teammates.

After years of abandoning him, Nasser's brother, Cassim, returned to the family after losing the money and being homeless. Unlike Dearg, Cassim didn't seem troubled or regret his decisions to leave them behind for money. Regardless, people can change when they're willing to…and Ruo believed Nasser should take that chance if Cassim is willing to change.

Math's mental scars from being abused had arisen thanks to seeing his father again. If Pyrrha hadn't been there, he could've suffered a panic attack, which said a lot. Math had seen death, Grimm, yet none of those things made him flinch. Even almost being killed by Nachtfel only affected him by making him realize how truly dangerous he was. Making him suffer a near panic attack revealed how much his father's abuse had affected him.

He strongly believed that if they had the chance to reconcile with their family, they should take it. He didn't have that chance with his mother due to her descent into violence…and because of a horrible choice he made.

-0-

" _Mom, you can't kill them!" a younger Ruo pleaded with his mother, Lihua._

" _Oh, yes I can!" she sadistically replied, pointing a gun at several Faunus. "They refused to join us! If they're not with us, then they're against us! All those who are against us must die!"_

" _Just because they don't like what the White Fang has done doesn't make them enemies!" Ruo pointed out. "Can't you see that you're becoming the same monster that killed Dad!?" She unloaded a bullet at Ruo, hitting his stomach and causing his white Aura to shimmer._

" _I am nothing like him!" she denied. "Your father would be ashamed of how much of a coward you've become!"_

" _No, he'd be disappointed in you," Ruo shot back. "You say you're fighting for peace, yet you are cruel to anyone who doesn't support violence! You say we're fighting for our people, yet you willingly hurt them when they do not agree with you!"_

" _Silence!" she shouted. "I am not a hypocrite. I am not a coward. I am not a murderer. I am a fighter and I will do whatever it takes for us to get the respect we deserve! And I'll start with them!"_

" _Don't!" the father Faunus pleaded. "They're only children!"_

" _They're traitors, just like you!" Lihua growled, pointing the gun at them. "If they do not join us, then they must die!" Just as she was about to pull the trigger, Ruo shouted "NO!"_

-0-

Ruo shook the memory out of his head and gasped heavily, not wanting to remember the ending. He groaned in annoyance before hearing the door to the hot tub open. Scared of someone seeing his scars, he quickly turned invisible and got out of the water.

"It's okay, Ruo," Yang assured, wearing a yellow robe, no doubt hiding her bathing suit beneath. "It's me." Ruo deactivated his invisibility, making himself known to his girlfriend.

"Yang?" he asked. "How'd you know I was here?"

"I came by your dorm earlier and Math said you had taken your towel and bathing suit," she answered. "I didn't see you at the pool, so I decided to look here. Good thing I did." She winked at him with a flirty smirk.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I thought you were someone else."

"It's fine," Yang responded. "Now are we going to stand here or are you going to get back in the tub with your sexy girlfriend?" She shed the robe, showing her yellow and purple bathing suit that showed off her body beautifully, making Ruo blush madly.

"See something you like~?" she asked teasingly before taking Ruo's hand and walking with him into the Hot Tub. As soon as Ruo sat down, Yang rested her head on his shoulder, prompting him to wrap his arm around her.

"You feeling alright?" she asked him.

"My teammates are going through a bit of a hard time right now," he answered. "It's something they'd like to keep personal."

"I won't pry," she assured. "What do you think you'll do after you graduate?"

"Stay with the team for a few years," Ruo answered. "I'll come and visit you when I can. What about you?"

"Some of it depends on what my teammates want," Yang explained. "If they want to stay a team after graduation, then I'll go with them. In honesty, I think each of us may go solo."

"Why's that?" the Faunus asked.

"Well, for one, Weiss came here because she wants to honor her family's reputation," Yang answered. "I didn't know much about the Schnee Dust Company until Weiss became my teammate. Are things really that bad?"

"Yes, they are," Ruo confirmed, silently hiding the contempt he had for the CEO of the SDC. "Jacques Schnee, Weiss's father, married into the family and took their name over his own. The SDC was meant to help Mantle recover from its economic crisis after the Great War; however, under Jacques's leadership, while the company has become more profitable than ever, it came at the cost of destroying its altruistic intentions. Cheap labor, dangerous working conditions, numerous monopolies…Jacques only cares about himself."

"Man," Yang responded.

"On top of that, he's very fond of using Faunus labor," Ruo added. "He sees us as nothing but animals who should serve humanity instead of asking for equality. That's part of why the White Fang are at war with them. Something that solidified our hatred for him is when he tried something nearly seven years ago."

"What did he do?" Yang asked, raising her head from his shoulder.

"He had gone to the Atlas Council, suggesting that instead of letting the Faunus have the island of Menagerie, humanity should take them and force them to work in the SDC Dust Mines," Ruo answered. "Obviously, the Council said no, which angered Jacques because he wanted more laborers for his company."

"How do you know this?" Yang asked.

"I learned about it from Jinse," Ruo answered. "She wasn't very fond of the SDC either."

"I hope I can meet her someday," Yang spoke with an optimistic tone.

"Well, we'd have to go into wilderness to see her," Ruo informed. "She tends to keep her distance from the kingdoms. She's not very fond of them…at least, not Atlas and Mistral, considering their bad history with Faunus."

"I'm fine with that," she assured. "Well, I spoke to Ruby and we're thinking of heading back home to Patch for about a week before school starts up again. What say you come with us?"

"You want me to meet your Dad?" Ruo asked. "Is he okay with-?"

"Don't worry," Yang interrupted. "He's got nothing against Faunus."

"Is he against us being in a hot tub alone?" Ruo asked once more, earning a smirk from Yang. She placed a kiss on his lips, to which he sunk into. She moved to sit on his lap, wrapping her legs around his torso and her arms around his neck. Ruo returned the embrace by wrapping arms around her back, feeling her smooth and soft skin. When the need for air became too much, they separated from each other.

"What about Blake and Ruby?" he asked, continuing the topic Yang brought up.

"Well…I don't know about Ruby, but Blake might go solo," the blonde brawler admitted. "She's the type who wants to fight injustice against the Faunus, but not the same way the White Fang's doing it now."

"That's why she came here," Ruo remembered. "She wants equality for Faunus, but not through violence."

"What about you, Ruo?" Yang asked. "Why do you want to be a Huntsman?" The White Tiger Faunus was quiet for a few moments, contemplating what he would say to Yang.

"My father was a doctor," he started. "He used his talents to help people. After I…left my mother and trained with Jinse, I thought about what I'd do with the skills she taught me. I ultimately decided I'd do what my father did: help people. Instead of going back to Mistral, I came here to Beacon."

"You really had it rough," Yang commented, looking at the numerous scars on his body. Ruo turned his head away for a minute.

"I know; it's not great to look at," he admitted. He felt a hand move his face back to make eye contact with his girlfriend.

"I don't care about the scars," she assured with a genuine smile while interlocking her fingers with Ruo's. "I care about what's inside. Don't ever think you're not good enough for me. Alright?" The White Tiger blushed and his ears flattened against his head, his eyes turned away from his girlfriend.

Even now, he was still struggling with accepting his past. He felt he'd never find someone who'd accept him if they learn about his time in the White Fang. Even though Yang accepted him now, he felt she wouldn't after learning about what happened to his mother.

Regardless, he replied "I understand." Yang smiled before bringing her lips to his and engaged in a passionate lip lock. As they continued kissing, Ruo felt something enter his mouth: Yang's tongue.

Instead of denying her entrance, he battled her tongue for dominance. No matter how much effort Ruo put forth, Yang refused to back down. She was stubborn…very stubborn. Finally he conceded and allowed Yang victory. After the demand for oxygen became too much again, they separated from each other.

"I love you, Yang," Ruo whispered as he started kissing her neck, earning a few moans from her as she messed with his white and black hair. She then took his ear in her thumb and index finger and started to stroke it, earning a few purrs from Ruo.

Suddenly, he jerked away from her, his face burning red and his eyes widened. Yang believed her recent action had caused him to become a little…heated.

"Yang…don't do that again," he asked.

"Okay," she replied before gently kissing him again. "Are you looking forward to the Tournament?"

"I am," Ruo smiled. "It'll be great to go up against other teams. Nasser really hopes we go up against Team SSSN."

"You don't like them much, do you?" the Sun Dragon asked.

"Sage and Scarlet are good people, but Sun…" he groaned. "Sun won't stop stealing other peoples' belongings and it's very irritating. I've no doubt that he has a good heart, but he's still a kleptomaniac and a bonehead."

"Well, he's definitely got a thing for Blake," Yang commented.

"Yeah, he's as obvious as Math was before he and Pyrrha started dating," Ruo chuckled, thinking back to how Robin enjoyed teasing his team leader.

"Do you have anywhere you need to be?" the blonde brawler asked her boyfriend. Ruo shook his head.

"Then for now, I'm keeping you all to myself," she smirked before kissing him again, gently yet passionately. Ruo returned the embrace and held her close to him, enjoying their moment together.

 **Author's Notes: I hope you're still liking this Fanfic so far! Make sure to read PaladinofArgyle's PALDN Volume 1 and Someone Special (Yang x Male Reader) by SlinkyDog. Both are good Fanfics and I want to give them each a shout out. Enjoy, my fellow writers!**


	4. The Tournament Begins

**RWBY: MRRN**

 **Volume 3, Chapter 4: The Tournament Begins**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

" **Everyone, welcome to the 40** **th** **Annual Vytal Tournament!"** Port greeted alongside Oobleck. **"The day has finally come!"**

" **Indeed it has!"** Oobleck agreed. **"I am Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck and this is my fellow coworker, Professor Peter Port. We will be the announcers of this year's tournament. Therefore, before we begin, we shall break down the rules for those who are just now showing up."**

" **The tournament is divided into three rounds: teams, doubles, and singles,"** Port explained. **"Age and school year are irrelevant. The only thing being tested…is skill."**

" **The victorious team will elect two of their members to represent them in the doubles round,"** Oobleck continued. **"Those two will then elect one of them to move onto the singles round. Whosoever wins the Tournament will achieve victory for their Academy and Kingdom! Now, let the randomization process begin!"** A loud cheer swept across the Amity Colosseum as monitors appeared and the images of eight students rolled around rapidly.

Meanwhile, all of the students participating were in the locker rooms, preparing their weapons in case they were picked today. Team MRRN had their weapons ready, watching the monitors in case they were picked along with Team IRIS.

"What do you think, sis?" Math asked Safirlas. "What do you think are the chances of us going up against each other?"

"It's possible," she replied. "Just don't expect me to go easy on you." Math chuckled.

"I'd be insulted if you did."

"I think we'd still whoop your butts," Medeia teased.

"You're welcome to try," Robin cockily shot back. Just then, the rolling images stopped and landed on a team from Beacon and one from Haven.

" **Team MRRN of Beacon and Team SNOW of Haven is our first match of the Vytal Tournament!"** Oobleck announced over the intercom. **"Will all other teams please go to your seats in a CALM AND ORDERLY FASHION!?"**

"Geez, Oobleck, chill out," Robin groaned. As everyone was leaving, Teams IRIS, RWBY, and JNPR stopped to wish Team MRRN luck.

"Good luck out there, guys," Ruby said.

"Go whoop some butt!" Medeia cheered. Pyrrha walked up to Math, then wrapped her arms around him and brought his lips to hers in a short kiss.

"Be careful out there," she spoke. Yang grabbed Ruo and smashed her lips onto his. It lasted for a few moments before the White Tiger was forced to push her off. After everyone had said their part, Team MRRN left the locker room and walked onto the arena, hearing a loud cheer sweep over them.

Math groaned a little from all the noise, feeling it throw his focus off a little, but he managed to regain his composure for the match about to happen. He then noticed a rather sour look on Nasser's face.

"I was so hoping we'd go up against Team SSSN," he complained. Math sighed; he knew perfectly well how much Nasser wanted to go up against the monkey Faunus he had nothing but contempt for. While Math didn't hold a high opinion of Sun either, he was okay with not facing him in the Vytal Tournament.

From the other side of the arena came Team SNOW of Haven. Their names were presented on the overhead Aura monitors: Shiro Kimura, Nathan Mavro, Odin Crimson and Winston Gray.

Shiro appeared to be the leader and strategist of the team, wielding a katana with a Dust scabbard, presumably for infusing Dust with his blade. Nathan Mavro, looking like a ranged fighter, had gauntlets with three large shuriken each that appeared to be able to be infused with Dust as well. Odin Crimson, a martial artist like Ruo-Jian, had gauntlets with a lion-like design. Winston Gray, who looked like a heavy fighter, wielded what looked like two large sickles.

"Oh, great," Nathan said. "We're going up against a Faunus. This'll be too easy."

"What was that?" Nasser growled. "You got a problem?"

"No," Nathan responded. "I prefer an actual challenge from an actual Huntsman, not an animal."

"Watch it," Math warned, pointing his blade at him. "I don't take kindly to others bullying my friends."

"Stay out of this," Nathan demanded. "No one should stand up for him. If you had any sense, you'd know that."

"I'm going to enjoy beating the crap out of you," Nasser taunted. Just then, projections of stages appeared from all over the arena. They started to rapidly rotate between the various stages for a few moments. Team MRRN's stage landed on forest while Team SNOW's stage landed on urban.

"Robin, stay high in the trees," Math instructed. "It looks like all of them will go on the offensive, so that means it'll be up to us three to fight them head on."

"If they come after me, don't worry," Robin assured. "I'll be fine. My Semblance will help a lot."

"Good luck, Mathdon!" Pyrrha cheered from her seat. She then said in a normal tone "I love you."

" **3,"** Port started to countdown. Teams MRRN and SNOW took fighting stances, prepared to engage.

" **2."** Ruo narrowed his eyes at Nathan Mavro, who he hoped to teach some manners.

" **1…BEGIN!"**

As instructed, Robin quickly ran into the forest and used his grappling hook to latch onto the branches. This left Math, Ruo and Nasser to take on Team SNOW.

Shiro activated the Ice Dust in his scabbard and unsheathed his blade. He slid the edge across the floor, causing a line of ice spikes to charge towards Ruo; the White Tiger Faunus leapt aside before activating his invisibility.

"Where'd he go?" Nathan growled. As he was prepared to attack, a Fire Dust arrow struck his torso, exploding on impact and knocking him onto his back. The shuriken user groaned in annoyance before recovering onto his feet.

"Get that bowman!" Shiro instructed Nathan. "We've got them!" As much as Nathan wanted to fight the Faunus to show his 'superiority', he did as he was instructed and rushed into the forest to keep Robin occupied.

Shiro rushed towards Math, his blade now infused with Lightning Dust and unleashed a barrage of slashes. Math deflected the attacks with Claiomh Solais before imbuing his weapon with one of his Aura Swords and slashed Shiro's stomach, causing him to be sent flying into the urban stage.

Meanwhile, in the forest, Nathan looked around for Robin, but couldn't see him. He knew he had to be somewhere in the trees, which is where he would have plenty of cover.

"Come out!" he demanded. Two arrows were heard flying through the air; Nathan caught on in time to throw two of his shuriken and split the arrows in half. However, he realized too late that the arrows had Fire Dust in them; after a few second, the arrows exploded, knocking Nathan back.

He held out his gauntlets and pressed buttons index finger with his thumb, bringing the shuriken back. He then leapt up and onto a branch. However, as soon as he landed, he heard a sharp 'thunk' and looked to see a grappling hook embedded in the branch. He leapt off just as the hook pulled the branch from the tree, which unfortunately gave away Robin's position.

"Found you!" Nathan bragged. He infused two of his shuriken with Ice Dust and threw them from the direction of where the hook came from. Instead of hearing grunts of pain, he only heard two thunks. He had missed.

He held his gauntlets out, bringing the shuriken back to him. Suddenly, a Lightning Dust arrow flew the air and, just as the shuriken were about land into Nathan's gauntlets, impacted on him. This caused him to lower his arms and get hit by the two shuriken he had thrown.

On the other side, Team MRRN had managed to push Team SNOW back to their stage, fighting amongst the urban ruins.

Ruo dodged Shiro's katana slash, retaliating with a clawing slash at his stomach. Shiro leapt back, sheathed his blade and infused it with Fire Dust. He unsheathed it with a swipe, sending a wave of flame towards the White Tiger, causing him to rush behind a fallen wall to take cover. Shiro sheathed his katana and looked behind the wall, only to see that Ruo was nowhere to be seen.

Math blocked Winston's sickle, or kama as he called them, with Dionach, replying with a slash of his blade. Winston hooked Claiomh Solais with the blade of his other kama and used all of his strength to swipe the sword out of Math's hand.

Math took the advantage and used his Semblance to control his sword. As he raised his shield, he threw his sword at Winston's back, sending him forward where Math followed up with a shield bash before retrieving his weapon.

" **It appears Mr. Mathdon Kendrick has used his Semblance!"** Oobleck announced. **"His Semblance allows him to create Aura Swords that he can telekinetically control or imbue into his own weapon, allowing him to add more power to his attacks!"**

"Nice," Winston complimented before recovering onto his feet and slashing at him with his kamas once more.

Nasser transformed Shafarnasr into SMGs, unleashed a barrage on Odin, who was using a large piece of wall to block it. The knife user smirked before changing his weapon to their knife form and launching himself forward with his Semblance, destroying the wall and flipping off upon impact.

" **My word, we just saw another Semblance in action!"** Oobleck announced. **"Mr. Nasser Achdarr's Semblance allows him to reserve and redirect kinetic energy as he sees fit. In this case, he used it to launch himself at Odin Crimson and destroy the rubble he was using as a shield!"**

"Go, Team MRRN!" Ruby cheered as she and her friends watched the battle unfold.

Shiro looked around for Ruo, not seeing him anywhere. He looked around at the other two battles, but both were 1-on-1. When he looked back, he saw Ruo slash at his shoulder before landing and disappearing again.

"So you can turn invisible," Shiro deduced. "Nice." He infused his blade with Ice Dust, waiting still as he awaited Ruo's next attack. Instead, the Faunus reappeared in front of him.

"I'm not falling for that," he stated. Shiro drew his sword and unleashed a violent wave of frost at Ruo, freezing his left leg and arm. The Iaido swordsman rushed forward, dealing two strikes to Ruo's white Aura, but also destroying the ice encasing his arm and leg.

" **It appears in Team MRRN's forest stage, Nathan Mavro is having trouble locating Robin Kendrick,"** Port announced, much to Mavro's annoyance.

Robin was staying two steps ahead and Nathan hadn't landed a single hit on him. He infused all of his shuriken with Lightning Dust and threw them all at once. This attack finally forced Robin to move from cover as he avoided the shuriken.

"There you are!" Nathan boasted before trying to throw another shuriken. It hit him; he had used all of his shuriken in the attack, leaving him none to attack Robin when he appeared. Robin fired three Earth Dust arrows at him, sending him flying out of the forest and out of the arena.

" **We have our very first knockout!"** Port announced. **"Nathan Mavro is eliminated by knockout!"**

"Dammit!" Nathan growled as Robin smirked. He used his Semblance to observe the battlefield and saw that everyone was now in the urban area.

"Oh, better get over there," he cockily spoke before leaping out of the trees.

Ruo blocked Shiro's blade with his left gauntlet and slashed at him with his right, which the swordsman narrowly dodged. Ruo had to hand it to Shiro; he was an excellent swordsman and martial artist.

Shiro sheathed his weapon once after dodging another attack from the White Tiger. This time, he infused his blade with Ice Dust once more and slid the blade across the ground, throwing a column of ice spikes towards Ruo. He rushed out of the way and pounced at Shiro, slashing at him twice.

"Hey, Math!" Nasser called out as he swung his chained blades at Odin. "Looks like Nathan is out of the fight!" Math took a quick moment to look at the overhead Aura bars to see a large red 'X' over Nathan's picture.

"Winston!" Odin called out. "Switch opponents!" The kama user nodded his head in acknowledgement. Math was about to attack again until Odin leapt over Winston and unleashed a frenzy of punches on the swordsman, who blocked them with Dionach.

Winston transformed his kama into two shotguns, unleashing a barrage of blasts at Nasser. He dodged the bullets by using his Semblance to rush to the side before launching himself at Winston. With a cross of his kamas, Winston was able to block the attack, though he was still sent backwards.

A whistle was heard from on top of a high building. Odin looked to see an Ice Dust arrow fly right towards him and land on his arm, trapping it in ice. Math took advantage of this and struck Odin with an Aura-imbued attack, sending him through a wall of rubble.

Math looked up to examine the Auras of everyone in the battle. As stated before, Nathan Mavro was out of the fight, leaving only three. Winston had the least amount of Aura while Shiro had barely lost any; not surprising, considering how much of a skilled swordsman and martial artist he appeared to be.

Robin looked over to see Shiro engaged in battle with Ruo. He nocked a Fire Dust arrow onto the bowstring and fired at him; Shiro barely raised his blade from the scabbard, infused with Water Dust, and split the arrow in half.

"Man, he's good," Robin commented. Unfortunately for Shiro, this left him open to a pounce attack from Ruo, driving him into the ground and then flipping forward.

"Thanks," the Faunus told his teammate.

"I've always got your back, pal," Robin assured.

Odin threw punch after punch at Math; some landed, others were blocked. The swordsman slashed at Odin, breaking his rhythm of attack and allowing him to go on the offensive. Math swung his weapon from above, which was blocked by Odin crossing his arms to stop the attack. The swordsman then bashed his shield up, leaving Odin wide open and imbued his weapon with two of his Aura Swords. This attack threw Odin into Winston, damaging both of their Auras, but Odin's was depleted.

" **We have a second knockout!"** Port announced. **"Odin Crimson is eliminated by low Aura level! Things aren't looking good for Team SNOW!"**

" **Indeed, it isn't!"** Oobleck agreed. **"However, the battle is not over yet! Shiro Kimura and Winston Gray are still in the fight! There is still a chance of victory for them!"**

"Yeah, that chance is pretty much gone," Nasser arrogantly replied. He used his Semblance to propel himself towards Winston once more; instead of damaging him, or even landing on him, he instead crashed into a wall.

"Where'd he go?" Math wondered. His question was immediately answered when Winston attacked from behind.

" **Yet another Semblance in action today!"** Oobleck announced. **"Winston Gray's Semblance allows him to teleport in short distances, but it comes at the cost of Aura."**

"Thanks for giving it away," Winston groaned as he leapt forward and slammed his kamas into the ground, trying to hit Mathdon. The swordsman leapt back, avoiding the attack. What he did not expect was for Winston to throw one of his kamas at him, hitting him right in the torso and causing significant damage to his Aura.

"Come on, Math and Robin!" Safirlas cheered for her brother and cousin. "You've got this!"

Shiro infused his katana with Fire Dust and threw several fire balls at Ruo and Robin, but each of them dodged the projectiles. Robin transformed Sharp Shot into its sword form and popped out to fight Shiro.

The leader of Team SNOW didn't unsheathe his blade; instead, he used his scabbard to block Robin's sword strikes before drawing his sword and slashing the archer twice and kicking him in the stomach.

"How's he going down that easily?" Nora asked in disbelief at Shiro beating Robin.

"Because Robin specializes in long range combat," Ren reminded her.

"Nasser!" Math called out. "Shield Slam!"

"On it!" the chain knife wielder. He rushed behind Winston and wrapped his chains around the kama user's torso. He spun him around three times before throwing him at Math, who had raised Dionach. He rushed forward and bashed his shield into Winston as Nasser threw him, dealing severe damage and sending him through the urban wall.

" **Winston Gray is eliminated by low Aura level!"** Port announced. **"Shiro Kimura is now the only remaining member of Team SNOW! Can he pull a miracle and win against all four members of Team MRRN?"**

"I'll do what I must," Shiro responded before rushing forward and kicking Robin twice, once in the stomach, the other on his lower jaw. Both time, Robin's red Aura shimmered from the attacks and laid him flat on his back.

"Don't get cocky!" Ruo told his partner. He pounced at Shiro again, throwing slashes and punches at him, some of them hitting Shiro.

"Robin!" the Faunus called out. "Sky Shot!"

"On it!" Robin smirked. He turned Sharp Shot into its bow form and shot an arrow at Shiro, but missed by several inches.

The swordsman believed their attack had failed, but Ruo clenched his fist and punched Shiro into the air, where he saw two Fire Dust arrows fly towards him. It hit him; the first arrow Robin fired was a distraction, allowing Ruo to take him by surprise and launch their attack on him.

The Fire Dust arrows exploded on impact, but Shiro still had enough Aura to stay in the fight…until he saw two Earth Dust arrows fly towards him while he was still in the air. This time, the attack knocked him out of the arena.

" **Wow!"** Oobleck announced. **"Shiro Kimura is eliminated by low Aura level and knockout! This match is over!"**

" **The first victory of this year's Tournament belongs to Team MRRN of Beacon!"** Port added. **"They now move onto the Doubles Rounds!"**

"You hear that, guys!?" Math called. "We won!" The four of them ran towards each other, laughing and got in one big hug. They then broke apart, and then Math and Robin started doing victory dances.

While they danced, Ruo looked up at the Aura monitor to see how much each of them had left. He was down to 54%, Nasser was at 62%, Robin was at 24%, and Mathdon was at 55%.

"They're dancing like dorks," Nora teased.

"Maybe," Pyrrha responded. "But Math's my dork." The swordsman then waved at one part of the audience, thinking Pyrrha was on that side.

" **She's behind you, Mr. Mathdon,"** Oobleck called out. Math looked behind him to see Pyrrha and waved, earning laughs and chuckles from the audience and a giggle from Pyrrha.

"Look before you wave, loverboy," Robin teased his team leader. Medics came onto the arena to pick up the members of Team SNOW and ensure they were doing fine. One of the medics caught Ruo's attention.

His eyes widened as he saw the rather young medic help Shiro onto his feet. He took a few steps forward, feeling the urge to slash him apart.

" _Dad!"_

"You!" he thought to himself. "You're…you're the bastard."

"Ruo?" Robin called, snapping him back to reality. The White Tiger Faunus looked at him, then the medic, and then back at his teammate.

"I'll…need to talk to you guys later," he admitted. Robin didn't understand what was going on, but he wasn't going to pry right now. As Team SNOW was escorted out of the arena, Team MRRN exited the way they came in. Entering the locker room, the were greeted by Teams RWBY and JNPR.

Pyrrha cheered, wrapping her arms around Mathdon, who then picked her and spun her around, both of them laughing. Yang again brought Ruo into a passionate lip lock, hoisting him up into the air.

"You did it, guys!" Jaune cheered. "You're moving onto the Doubles' Rounds!"

"Sure are," Math replied as he put Pyrrha down and kissed her.

" **The next match will be starting in fifteen minutes!"** Oobleck said over the intercom. **"The next match is…Team CMNE of Haven vs. Team MOON of Atlas!"**

"Team CMNE?" Nasser asked. "Isn't that the team with Mercury and Emerald?"

"Yeah," Math confirmed.

"Oh, sweet!" Ruby cheered. "Emerald seems really nice! I can't wait to see their match."

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm thinking I may grab a bite to eat when the matches are done for the day," Math brought up.

"I think I may join you," Ruo suggested.

Yang looked at Ruo and could see that something was bothering him. He was being much more quiet than usual and she had seen his reaction to the medics that came onto the arena.

"Ruo, let's go get something now," she suggested. Before Ruo could even protest, she grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the group, much to everyone's confusion. When they were alone, Yang let him go.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "You're being more quiet than usual."

"That medic-" He stopped himself and looked around to see that no one else was around. "Do you remember what I said about my father? How he died?"

"Yeah," she confirmed. "He was shot, right?"

"That medic that was helping Shiro…he's the one," Ruo confessed. "He's the one who killed my father." Yang's eyes widened and she covered her mouth in shock of this revelation. The man who had killed the father of her boyfriend was here in Vale, among them…and with no proof of him committing murder.

"I can't go to the police or anyone," Ruo shamefully stated. "Even if I did, I have no evidence of him killing my father. I…he's right here and I can't do anything about it."

Yang wished she knew what to do, but Ruo was right. He had zero proof of the medic he encountered of killing his father, Guiren. Even if he went to the police, they probably wouldn't believe him…just because he was a Faunus.

"Have you told your teammates?" she asked.

"I plan to," he answered. "I don't know if it'll help, but…I shouldn't keep them in the dark about this."

"Well, if you ever need someone to talk to, my door's open," Yang assured with a peck on his cheek.

"Thanks, Yang," Ruo replied.

-0-

" **3,"** Port started the countdown as Team CMNE and Team MOON prepared for their match. Team CMNE's side was ice while Team MOON's was geyser.

" **2…1. BEGIN!"**

Team CMNE and Team MOON started their match, with Mercury and Cinder immediately fighting on the front lines.

"Man, Mercury's good," Yang commented, noting his excellent skills of kick-based fighting.

"Well, he did hold his own against Pyrrha," Ruo reminded everyone.

"No, he bailed," Math corrected.

The match didn't go on for too long; Team CMNE showed themselves to be very adept fighters, winning with ease against Team MOON.

" **The match** **goes to Team CMNE!"** Oobleck announced. **"They move onto the Doubles' Round!"**

To say that Team MOON lost would be an understatement; they were utterly annihilated. Team CMNE had barely lost any Aura, especially Cinder and Mercury, despite them doing most of the front line fighting.

" **The Tournament will resume in half an hour!"** Port informed. **"Do what you need to do before it starts up! We'll have the next match determined when we come back!"**

" **NO MISCHIEF!"** Oobleck shouted.

"I swear, Professor Oobleck is annoying," Nasser groaned.

" **It's DOCTOR Oobleck, Mr. Achdarr,"** the fast-talking doctor replied. The knife user groaned again.

"I hope we're next!" Yang spoke. "I was hoping we'd go first." She nuzzled up to Ruo and kissed his cheek.

"But at least I got to see my hot boyfriend kick some butt."

"Yang!" Weiss scolded. "Show some decency." All the blonde brawler did was stick her tongue out.

"Well, I'm going to get a drink," Math informed. "Hopefully, the line's not too long. Do you want a drink, Pyrrha?"

"I'll come with you," she answered as she got up from her seat and walked with Math out of the bleachers.

"I'm heading to the restroom," Ruo informed as he got up from his seat and left.

In truth, he needed time to process what he had seen today. His father's killer was here in Vale. Without evidence, he wouldn't be able to convince the law of him being his father's murderer.

He was the reason Ruo lost his family. He was the reason his mother descended into savagery and brutality. He was the reason Ruo had to…

"I must get justice for my father," he swore, determination and revenge in his tone. "No matter what it takes, I will make him pay."

 **Author's Notes: Hope you enjoyed the fight between Team MRRN and SNOW! If you have any constructive criticism you'd like to share, please state it in a review or PM me. Enjoy this Fanfic, my fellow writers!**


	5. The Tournament Continues

**RWBY: MRRN**

 **Volume 3, Chapter 5: The Tournament Continues**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

Team RWBY's match had started. They had been matched up against Team ABRN of Haven, a team known for being composed of mostly martial artists, including the powerful Arslan Altan and Bolin Hori. For now, the match seemed very balanced; the only advantage Team RWBY had was that Nadir Shiko of Team ABRN seemed to be more of a burden than an asset.

"Come on, Yang!" Ruo cheered from his seat. Yang was engaged in a brawl against Arslan Altan, both of them seemingly equally skilled. Another fight catching Math's eye was the one between Blake Belladonna and Reese Chloris, who was wielding a hoverboard type of weapon.

"Man, she's good with that," Math commented. Reese charged her hoverboard forward, only to hit one of Blake's ice Shadow Clones. The Cat Faunus used the advantage to take Reese by surprise. The member of Team ABRN flipped, her weapon changing into dual guns and firing several shots at Blake; unfortunately, she landed on her rear.

"Oooh!" Math and Robin gasped, followed by Robin saying "I don't care where she's from. That's gotta hurt!"

The match continued on. Math and Robin thought Nadir would be the first one out, but that was not the case. Blake outsmarted Reese with one of her Shadow Clones and knocked her out of the match.

"Nice one, Blake!" Sun complimented. Later, Bolin and Nadir were trapped in a large ball of ice by none other than the Ice Queen. After seeing this, Arslan freed them with a well-timed attack, shattering the ice apart. Team RWBY then performed another team attack, ending with Yang knocking all three of them out of the arena.

" **Victory goes to Team RWBY of Beacon!"** Port announced. **"They now move onto the Doubles' Round!"**

Every one of their friends cheered for them in honor of their victory over Team ABRN. Ruo joined in it as well, standing from his seat and cheering Yang's name. The feeling of joy and triumph was quickly forfeit by suppressed anger and rage as he saw the medic come onto the arena again. This was noticed by Robin, wearing an obvious expression of worry.

" **The next match will be in fifteen minutes!"** Oobleck announced. **"Do whatever you need to do and be back by then! We have a schedule to keep, people!"**

"Let's go congratulate them," Pyrrha suggested to everyone. They all got up from their seats and started walking out of the bleachers to the locker room.

"Excuse me," a voice called out, addressing Math. The voice came from Emerald Sustrai of Team CMNE, holding a wallet that looked like…Math's.

"You dropped this." The swordsman approached her, took the wallet and placed it in his pocket.

"Thanks," he responded. "How did it fall out?"

"Accidents happen," Emerald suggested. "You're going to go congratulate Team RWBY?"

"We are," Pyrrha answered.

"Wave in the right direction this time," Robin teased his teammate. Math sighed.

"That's not going away any time soon," he solemnly spoke. "So, we saw your match, Emerald. You did well."

"Thanks," she responded. "You guys didn't do so bad yourselves."

"It's called MRRN Power," Robin bragged, earning a slap on the head from Ruo.

"So, who did you decide to go to the Doubles' Round?" Emerald asked.

"We voted for Math and Robin," Ruo answered. Emerald looked past them to see the obvious scowl of disappointment on Nasser's face.

"What about you?" Robin asked. "Who did you vote for?"

"It wasn't really a vote to be honest," Emerald answered. "Cinder wants Mercury and I to go onto the Doubles' Rounds."

"Well, I wish you the best," Math replied. "I'll talk to you later." With that, Teams MRRN and JNPR walked off to say their congrats to Team RWBY while Emerald returned to Cinder in the bleachers while Mercury was eating popcorn.

"Well?" she asked.

"It's Math and Robin," Emerald answered.

"One's a powerful close combatant while the other is an excellent long range marksman…smart of them," the ashen haired woman spoke. "That's one down. Next is Team RWBY; find out which two are moving on. Then we'll know what we're working with."

"I will," Emerald assured.

"What about Team JNPR?" Mercury asked. "Shouldn't we find out about which two they'll send?"

"We already know who," Cinder replied as she took a popcorn and ate it.

-0-

"Great job out there!" Robin complimented Team RWBY in the locker room. "You guys really kicked their butts out there!"

"We sure did," Yang replied. "Now we'll get to kick more butt in the Doubles' Rounds! Speaking of which, have you guys decided who's moving on?"

"We voted for Math and Robin," Ruo answered. "We think they're the most balanced out duo for this tournament. Have you thought about it?"

"We agreed to put it to a vote," Weiss informed. "We'll make sure to decide soon."

"It's a shame I won't get to see you in the Doubles' Rounds," Yang told her boyfriend, putting her arm around him. "At least you'll get to see me so 'Yang' out there."

"God dammit, Yang!" Nasser shouted, earning a glare from the blonde brawler.

" **Welcome back to the Vytal Tournament!"** Port announced. **"Our next match will be now randomized!"** The images from before started to spin until landing on one team from Haven and another from Atlas.

" **Team IRIS of Haven and Team PLTM of Atlas are next!"** Oobleck announced. **"Will all other students please return to your seats if you wish to watch the match?"**

"Safirlas is up!" Math exclaimed. "Come on! We have to go watch!" Math grabbed Pyrrha's hand and quickly rushed to the bleachers with Robin following. They arrived just in time to see Team IRIS walk onto the arena from one side and Team PLTM from the other.

"Good luck, sis!" Math cheered, earning a giggle from Pyrrha at how excited he was.

-0-

"Sit down, Math," Safirlas whispered to herself.

"Come on, Safirlas," Medeia responded. "He's just excited to see you in the Tournament."

"Well, he can do it sitting down," she responded in an annoyed tone.

"Geez, you always get annoyed by the slightest things," Medeia spoke. Team PLTM lined up against Team IRIS after they walked onto the arena.

The leader, Platin Reynolds, wielded a pair of revolvers with dagger blades. The swordsman, Luke Sky, wielded a sword that could be infused with Dust like Shiro's, except Luke's was a broadsword, not a katana. The heavy hitter at 7 feet tall, Terrence Silber, wielded what looked like a heavy shotgun, capable of tearing through anything with ease. The final member, Meralda Ripley, wielded a pair of gauntlets with flamethrowers on the wrists.

"I'm mostly worried about the big guy," Imamu whispered to Medeia. "I've seen a lot of shotguns, but that looks it'll tear through us like butter."

"Leave him to me," Safirlas responded, twirling her spear. The stages were chosen for each side; Team IRIS's was the ocean stage while Team PLTM's was the ice stage.

"Look at that!" Platin gloated. "We have home field advantage!"

"Don't get arrogant!" Medeia shot back. "The battle hasn't started yet."

" **3, 2, 1…BEGIN!"** Oobleck quickly announced.

Almost immediately, Safirlas leapt onto her spear and kicked several times at Terrence, making him go on the defensive. He used his arm to block her attacks and reached to grab her leg, but she pulled away, pulled her spear from the ground and twirled it, hitting him several times in the head.

"Whoa!" Pyrrha responded. "That's quite an attack! Is your sister a martial artist?"

"She sure is," Math confirmed. "Safirlas is skilled in Sojutsu, relating to spear martial arts. She focuses more on martial arts than I do."

Medeia detached her bow, transforming into knives and rushed at Platin, who activated his weapon's dagger mode. They traded blows with one another, their blades clashing again and again until Platin changed one of them into a revolver and shot Medeia in her shoulder, causing her purple Aura to shimmer.

Rong hooked his swords together and swung them several times at Luke, who blocked the strikes. The hook sword user then detached his weapons and unleashed a frenzy of attacks on Luke.

This was a bit difficult for Rong, considering his weapons. Hook swords were most effective against chains and polearms, but against straight swords, they weren't as strong. This left Rong at a bit of a disadvantage as he fought against the proficient Luke Sky.

Imamu hooked his shotel sword at Meralda's ankle, tripped her and smashed his shield into her. Meralda quickly recovered from the attack and brought her fists down on him, but he quickly raised his shield and blocked the attack.

Meralda activated the flamethrowers on her gauntlets and unleashed a roaring inferno upon Imamu. Luckily, he rushed to the water and dove. Meralda quickly rushed to aim her flamethrowers, but saw that he was still underwater. She couldn't get to him with her flamethrower until he had risen, so she deactivated them and leapt on one of the small islands.

Safirlas threw attack after attack at Terrence, doing her best not to give him a chance to use his heavy shotgun. She looked up at the Aura monitors to see that she had only taken out a fraction of his Aura.

"I don't go down easy," Terrence stated before aiming his shotgun at Safirlas. She caught on in time to leap up and avoid the blast. She grabbed two of her Dust daggers from the compartment before lunging her spear at Terrence, aiming for his head. She retracted her weapon immediately before throwing her daggers at him, both of them blowing up on impact.

"Where are you?" Meralda shouted as she looked around for Imamu, but saw nothing. Suddenly, she saw his shadow in the water coming at her fast, like a shark. He leapt out and slashed at her with his shotel sword before diving back into the water.

" **You may not know it, but we are seeing another Semblance in action,"** Port explained. **"Mr. Imamu Nyekundu's Semblance allows him to not only breathe underwater, but also accelerate his movement while swimming. However, this effect can only last for so long before he's forced to resurface."**

"That explains why he was underwater for so long," Meralda concluded. "I need to force him out of the water." She turned around to look at Terrence still fighting Safirlas.

"Terrence!" she called out, immediately gaining his attention. "Switch opponents!" He nodded and rushed over to the ocean stage, ignoring Safirlas. Meralda got off the ocean stage and leapt towards Safirlas, unleashing an inferno at her, which she dodged.

She quickly chased Safirlas to the ice stage where she again activated her flamethrowers and fired at the spear user. The member of Team IRIS spun her spear around, blocking the flames. Once the flaming assault stopped, Safirlas charged forward and started stabbing at Meralda with Himmelkanten.

"Go, Safirlas!" Math and Robin cheered.

Rong attached his hook swords yet again, swinging them at Luke from a distance. The swordsman swung his weapon and knocked one of the hook swords aside, leaving Rong with only one.

"Switch opponents," Ruo urged.

"Why is Rong doing so bad?" Nasser asked.

"Because hook swords are best against chains and polearms," Ruo explained to his teammate. "But against straight swords like Luke's…they're at a real disadvantage."

Terrence waited patiently for Imamu's Semblance to wear out and ultimately force him to resurface. Finally, it paid off and the shotel user of Team IRIS rose from the water, leaping onto one of the islands. Terrence aimed his weapon at Imamu and fired a Fire Dust round, exploding on impact, sending him flying.

" **Oooh!"** Oobleck announced. **"That looked like it had to hurt! Things may not be going in Team IRIS's favor!"**

"Fall back!" Medeia ordered. While Safirlas and Rong abandoned their fights to return to the ocean stage, Medeia quickly leapt across the islands and leapt on the ship, then the mast, which would serve her perfectly.

"She's right to fall back," Pyrrha commented to Math. "They're at a major disadvantage when divided against Team PLTM. They'll need to stay together."

"Take them!" Platin ordered his team. Luke rushed to Safirlas, skillfully swinging his Ice Dust-infused sword at her. The spear user deflected the attacks, knocked the tip of the blade into the ground, leapt over him and hit him in the head with her spearhead.

"The Spear-Header," Math groaned. "She loved using that move on me when we trained together."

She held her spear at the end, swinging in wide arcs several times at Luke. He blocked all of them, but didn't catch Safirlas grabbing Himmelkanten with both hands and swiping at his feet, knocking him onto his back.

Rong was attacked by Meralda, throwing punch after punch at him. Luckily, he was doing much better against her since he himself was trained in martial arts. He deflected her attacks barehanded since he had sheathed his hook swords.

He pulled a sneak attack on her by suddenly drawing one of his blades and hooking her ankle, pulling her leg up and embedding the spike pommel into her, damaging her Aura.

Imamu dove back into the water to avoid Terrence's shotgun blast. Instead of waiting around for him to resurface, Terrence fired at Medeia, who narrowly avoided the blast.

Platin turned his weapons into revolvers and unleashed a barrage of bullets on Medeia as well. Despite her agility, the barrage of blasts from Terrence and Platin were becoming too much for her, causing several of the bullets to hit her and ultimately knock her off the mast.

" **My word!"** Oobleck gasped. **"It appears Medeia Iris is in trouble!"**

"Medeia!?" Safirlas gasped. She looked away from her battle with Luke to see Terrence Silber and Platin Reynolds putting a lot of pressure on her. She twirled her spear, knocking Luke to the ground, and rushed over to help her team leader by lunging her spear at Platin, though he narrowly dodged the spearhead.

He turned his weapons into daggers and swung at Safirlas, but she managed to duck and miss the blade, followed by knocking one of them out of his hands. Terrence aimed his shotgun at Safirlas, but was interrupted by an attack from Imamu, who proceeded to deal slash after slash on him.

Finally, the first knockout came when Rong connected his hook swords and swung several times at Meralda, landing constant hits on her. He finished her off with a downward strike, making her fall into the water.

" **We have a knockout!"** Port announced. **"Meralda Ripley is eliminated by Aura level! It's now 3-on-4!"**

"Not for long," Terrence Silber stated. He was ready to take out Imamu, deducing his hit and run tactics since the ocean stage gave him an immense advantage. As soon as Imamu resurfaced again, aiming for Terrence, he was caught off guard when the giant shotgun user grabbed Imamu by the throat and pinned him to the ground.

"That's enough out of you," he stated before unloading several rounds onto Imamu, tearing through his Aura easily before finishing him off by throwing him onto an island.

" **We have a second knockout, this time from Team IRIS!"** Oobleck announced. **"Imamu Nyekundu is eliminated by low Aura level! It's now 3-on-3! This is turning into a very close match!"**

" **Indeed!"** Port agreed. **"That Terrence Silber has taken the most damage, yet his Aura reflects otherwise!"**

Finally, Medeia recovered from her fall and nocked two arrows before looking around. Safirlas had both Luke and Platin fighting her; even though she was holding her ground, it was obvious she was starting to become a bit overwhelmed. Rong was on another one of the islands, fighting against Terrence Silber with his hook swords, but was barely making a dent in his Aura.

"Imamu was right; Terrence's a real problem," Medeia thought to herself. She was about to fire her arrows at Luke, but heard Rong fall into the water, having been punched by Terrence. She fired her arrows at the heavy hitter of Team PLTM, which still did little damage to his Aura.

"He's a REAL problem," Medeia spoke before turning her bow into knives and rushing to help Rong.

"Why isn't she helping Safirlas?" Nora asked. "She's fighting two of them by herself."

"Safirlas may be a bit overwhelmed, but she can handle them," Math assured, displaying complete confidence in his sister's martial arts.

The spear user twirled her weapon, knocking Luke off balance and slammed the spearhead onto Platin's shoulder. She jumped forward, unleashing a flurry of kicks on him and then kicking him into a tree. Luke, having regained his balance, swung at Safirlas again, only to be deflected by her twirling spear.

She then jumped onto Platin, her feet landing on his chest, and lunged once again at Luke. The swordsman deflected the attack, but that didn't stop Safirlas from flipping and kicking him to the ground.

"See?" Math told Nora. "My sister's got this."

On the other island, Rong and Medeia were fighting simultaneously against Terrence, but he was managing to block their attacks with merely his arms or shotgun. Finally, Rong hooked his swords together, swung them and knocked the shotgun out of Terrence's hands, leaving him vulnerable.

"Attack him with everything you have!" Medeia told Rong. The hook sword user disconnected his weapons and swung from above, only for Terrence to grab the blades, then throw Rong off the island and into the water.

" **We have two more knockouts!"** Port announced. **"Platin Reynolds and Luke Sky are both eliminated by low Aura level! It's now up to Terrence Silber to win for Team PLTM to move on!"**

Terrence looked over to see Safirlas standing over the Aura depleted Platin Reynolds and Luke Sky. He was all on his own now.

Medeia swung her knives at him, which he blocked with his arms before grabbing her own arms and throwing her over the ship. When she landed, she was out of the arena.

" **Medeia Iris is eliminated by knockout!"** Oobleck announced. **"Can Rong and Safirlas defeat Terrence Silber? Let us find out!"**

"Rong!" Safirlas called, grabbing his attention. "Keep him away from his weapon! I'll take care of him!" She jumped to the island where Terrence was, but did not attack him upon landing. She looked over to the Aura monitors to check out Terrence's Aura Bar, which was at 34%. Her own was at 72%.

"Bring it," Terrence told Safirlas, holding his fists. The spear user unleashed a flurry of kicks on him, which he blocked before knocking her aside. He tried to bring his fists down, but she dodged by rolling and slashed his legs with Himmelkanten. After the attack, she again looked up at the Aura monitor, seeing that he was now at 31%.

"I don't go down easy," Terrence stated, getting back up.

"Well, neither do I," Safirlas replied before she unleashed a frenzy of spear stabs on him. She was being very quick in her stabs, making sure Terrence wouldn't have time to grab onto the pole of her weapon.

"Come on, Safirlas!" Math and Robin cheered. "You've got this!"

Terrence's Aura went down little by little as Safirlas kept stabbing at his torso and legs, changing up whenever he put up a defense in a certain area. Finally, he managed to grab the spear and stop her flurry of attacks before yanking it from her and throwing it in the water.

"Let's see how well you are without your spear," Terrence challenged. He threw another punch at her, but she ducked and flipped up, kicking him square in the jaw. He was knocked off balance, making him unaware of Rong holding his shotgun and unleashing a blast at him. In a matter of moments…

" **Terrence Silber is knocked out!"** Port announced. **"Victory goes to Team IRIS of Haven! They move onto the Doubles' Rounds!"**

"YEAH!" Math and Robin cheered, rising from their seats.

"We won!" Safirlas cheered as the audience went wild.

" **That was easily one of the closest matches I've seen in a while!"** Oobleck announced. **"This was an entertaining day for us all! Unfortunately, this concludes the matches for today. All teams who have won their matches, make sure you let General Ironwood know who among you will proceed to the Doubles' Round. Now, all of you please leave in a CALM AND ORDERLY FASHION?"**

"I really wish he'd stop that," Nasser growled. Math and Robin quickly rose from their seats to go down to the locker room to congratulate Team IRIS. Ruo caught sight of the same medic again, his anger starting to rise.

"Once I get back to Beacon, I'll tell them," he told himself.

-0-

"You were awesome out there!" Math complimented. "Terrence looked like he was a real problem."

"He was," Safirlas admitted. "He was tougher than I thought. That guy can take a real beating."

"I'll say," Medeia agreed. "He took out both Imamu and I. He took me out by throwing me off the arena. Imamu…he just got cocky."

"Hey!" Imamu replied offended. "I thought I was doing pretty well until he took me out."

"I think we could've done better," Rong stated. "At least we made it to the Doubles' Rounds. Have you decided on who's going?"

"Robin and I are going to the Doubles' Rounds," Math answered. "We put it to a vote. Nasser wanted to go, but Ruo was our tiebreaker and we were elected."

"Well, since matches are over for today…I'm hungry," Safirlas spoke in a pretentious suffering tone. "I haven't eaten since breakfast this morning."

"And you call me a character?" Imamu teased.

"Oh, shut your mouth," Safirlas replied. "What do you guys say? Up for lunch?"

"Sure am," Medeia agreed. "What about you two? Want to come?"

"Actually, we're meeting up with our teammates," Math responded. "Perhaps another time?"

"Sure," Safirlas replied. "See you guys around." The two of them rushed to meet up with their friends and catch a ship that would take them close to the fairgrounds.

While sitting down, Pyrrha and Yang put their heads on the shoulders of their boyfriends. They rested for the trip as they went to the dock that would let them off at the fairgrounds.

Robin smiled as he looked at them until he felt his scroll go off. He opened it to see an image of Coco with the name "Sexy Girlfriend."

"Hey, Coco," he answered.

" _Hey, babe,"_ she replied. _"Are you free tonight?"_

"I am," Robin answered. "Why?"

" _I was wondering if you'd like to go to dinner with me tonight,"_ she offered. _"I know a good place not too far. What do you think?"_

"Sounds great," Robin replied. "See you then, beautiful."

" _Love you, babe,"_ Coco said before she hung up.

-0-

"Are you sure you wish to go through with this?" Goodwitch asked Ozpin. "We don't know what'll happen."

"We're running out of time and options," Ozpin spoke. "We don't know who this infiltrator is or even if they're still here at Beacon. If they discover Amber is here, then it's only a matter of time before they make their move."

"Glynda, I know you disapprove," Ironwood spoke. "But desperate times call for desperate measures. The Fall Maiden's power is too dangerous to allow to fall into the hands of that assailant. We must do whatever it takes, otherwise people will die."

"I thought about this decision for a long time," Ozpin told Goodwitch. "It's not something to be proud of, but it's the only choice we have left. You must understand." Goodwitch looked down for a moment, not condoning this decision at all.

She understood the consequences of the enemy getting the Fall Maiden's full power. If they were successful, there was no telling of how much destruction could be unleashed upon the world. At the same time, they were going to ask a student to throw away everything that mattered to them for their conflict, something they had no right to do.

Ultimately, they had to do anything at this point to keep the Maiden's power out of the hands of their enemy. As much as she disapproved, there were no other options left. She gave a sigh before speaking.

"Fine," she agreed. "I don't like this, but if it's what should be done…then so be it."

"I don't like it either," Ozpin agreed. "But we must do so to keep people safe. Luckily, I have a candidate in mind. I've known it since the day she came from Mistral."

"Who?" Ironwood asked.

"You'll see," Ozpin replied.

 **Author's Notes: I hope you enjoyed the IRIS vs. PLTM (Platinum) fight this chapter! If you have any constructive criticism on how to improve my story, then write a review or PM me! Enjoy, my fellow writers!**


	6. Pain and Love

**RWBY: MRRN**

 **Volume 3, Chapter 6: Pain and Love**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

Nachtfel hated this. He hated having to wait for the opportunity to destroy Beacon Academy as he was promised. If Roman Torchwick hadn't screwed up the plan, then odds are the fabled Huntsman Academy would be in ruins.

By now he was considering breaking away from Cinder's group and acting out on his own. From an initial view, to break away from Cinder and Valkoin would come at no cost. They needed his forces at their disposal to combat the numerous Huntsmen in Vale, a task that couldn't be relied upon to the White Fang. They may be trained fighters, but they were not trained to fight Huntsmen.

On the other hand, he had no idea who Cinder and Valkoin's master was. From the sounds of it, their master sounded very powerful…and dangerous. For all he knew, their master could wipe out his forces in the blink of an eye. He had been warned only once not to betray her and only once; if they only delivered one warning, it established just how dangerous she was.

" _You shouldn't be doing this,"_ someone said. Nachtfel quickly looked around, but saw no one. However, when he looked in the mirror, instead of his reflection, he saw an older man.

"Why not?" he questioned.

" _Do you really think your crusade will change anything?"_ the older man asked. _"All you're doing is endangering more lives."_

"We wouldn't have to do this if the Huntsmen of Remnant weren't corrupt beyond repair," Nachtfel growled. "They claim to be our protectors, yet-"

" _You want to hold all of them accountable for the actions of a few?"_ the older man questioned. _"You're going down a path of hatred and violence. How can you not see that?"_

"I can see just fine," Nachtfel responded.

" _Take off your helmet,"_ the older man requested.

"Why?" the demon warrior asked.

" _I'm tired of looking at it,"_ the man said. _"I want to see your face."_

"What face?" he questioned.

" _You're really asking me that?"_ the man asked. _"I know whose face is under there, under that heap of metal: the face of my son."_

Nachtfel paused for a moment. He had never taken his helmet off when someone was around. It was as if hiding who his identity was a vital part of his life, even from his allies.

He hesitantly reached for the helmet, but stopped for a moment. He felt was if he was about to rip off his skin; the helmet and armor were so much a part of him than he knew. He didn't want to take it off, even for him.

" _Please,"_ the father pleaded. Nachtfel gulped before grabbing his helmet and placing it on the table next to him.

"This is who I am now, father," Nachtfel insisted.

" _No, this is who you chose to be,"_ his father replied. _"You simply chose Nachtfel over your real name."_

"Because my old name has no meaning for me anymore," Nachtfel replied. "It is simply a reminder of my suffering."

" _Then am I a reminder of your suffering?"_ his father questioned. _"I gave you that name, after all."_

A tear rolled down Nachtfel's cheek. His old name was indeed a reminder of his pain and so he had worked so hard to forget it. At the same time, he loved his father, who gave him his birthname. Throwing away his name meant possibly throwing away the memory of his father.

"I don't want people to suffer as I have," he confessed.

" _What about the children, wives, husbands and parents of the Huntsmen you've slain, whose blood is on your armor?"_ his father called out. _"Are you not forcing them to feel your pain as well? You're blinded by hate and you won't see the damage you're causing."_

"It's their fault for being families with them!" Nachtfel shouted. "I want to make Remnant safe. With the Huntsmen around, no one is safe."

" _Will you not listen to me?"_ his father asked, his voice somewhat shaky. _"Will you not acknowledge what you've done?"_

Nachtfel was quiet once more. He was planted in his belief that the Huntsmen were the true source of evil and corruption in this world, but it was a belief made from his pain and suffering. They took everything away from him, so he wanted to take everything away from them.

"The Huntsmen took everything away from me!" Nachtfel barked. "You, mother, my little sister…they took everything away from me!"

" _You cannot purge evil with evil,"_ his father pointed out. _"You think killing the Huntsmen is the right way to go, but you're wrong. You wish to wipe out all for the actions of a few."_

"I've seen what they do when no one's looking," Nachtfel snarled. "Torture, intimidation, bribing, stealing, murder, kidnapping…they're nothing but mercenaries who give themselves to the highest bidder. I must stop them."

" _Son,"_ his father cried. _"You are so much more than what you have become. Please, stop this violence. Stop the suffering you inflict upon others!"_

"Shut up!" Nachtfel roared as he threw his arm back and punched the mirror, shattering it to pieces, but also hearing a faint _"I love you…Son."_

Nachtfel breathed heavily for several moments before his eyes started to water. He knelt down amongst the shattered pieces of the mirror, feeling the pain of his past take the form of tears running down his cheeks.

"Father," he whispered.

-0-

Ruo held his scroll in his hand as he stood in a secluded part of the Beacon dorms. He had already written the text message 'Come to the dorm. I need to speak to you about something.', and had it set up to send to all three of his teammates.

He planned on telling them about the medic, the same man who had taken his father's life. Telling them seemed simple, but now that he was actually going to do so…he could feel his heart beat fast. He felt that if it beat any faster, it'd fly right out of his chest.

He was scared of how they'd react that the same man who killed his father was here in the Vytal Festival. What would they say? What advice would they offer?

"Wait a minute," Ruo remembered. Math and Robin's uncle Gormen was in the VSU, the top law enforcement in Vale. He was in their good graces ever since the night of the attack during the Vytal Committee. If he explained the situation to them, perhaps they could do something about it.

He didn't want to resort to violence to get justice for his father's murder, but if the VSU idea didn't work…

No. He had to make it work. He wanted justice for his father's murder and he would get it, no matter what. He took a very deep breath and sent the message. In a few moments, he received three different messages.

From Mathdon, he received "Be there in a little bit."

From Robin, he received "See you, dude."

From Nasser, he received "Coming."

It was done. There was no turning back from telling them the harsh truth of what he saw in the Amity Colosseum. He just prayed everything would go well.

-0-

Ruo waited in the dorm for his teammates, feeling unnatural anxiety take over, which was completely unlike him. This told him how much seeing his father's murderer was affecting him.

He was thinking of calling Yang, but he didn't want them to interrupt their conversation. His mind was racing a mile a minute, trying to think of all the outcomes of this confession.

"Perhaps I should tell…No!" he snapped at himself. "That HAS to stay secret. If they found out, I'd…"

"Hey," Math greeted with a warm smile on his face. However, it quickly disappeared when he saw the look of worry on Ruo's scowl, completely different from the calm and collected Faunus he knew.

"Whoa," Nasser gasped. "You look like you saw a ghost."

"You could say that," Ruo replied, making Nasser feel uneasy.

"What is it?" Robin asked as they all sat down on the beds, he and Ruo sitting one and Math and Nasser on the other.

They all waited patiently for Ruo to be ready to speak. It was obvious he had something heavy on his mind and heart, something that he needed mental preparation for. They assumed it was possibly something related to his time in the White Fang.

"Do you remember what I told you…about how my father died?" the Faunus spoke after what seemed like years of silence.

"He was shot and killed," Nasser bluntly reminded. "Then your mother was framed and was sent to jail."

"The man who did this…the one who ruined my family…he was at the Amity Colosseum," Ruo confessed.

The reactions of his three teammates differed. Math's was one of shock with widened eyes and his mouth almost dropped. Nasser was the same as Math's, but quickly turned into one of anger. Robin looked very sympathetic at this revelation, knowing how much it must've hurt his partner.

"Who was it?" Math asked.

"The medic who helped Shiro Kimura after our match," Ruo answered. He clenched his teeth and fists, almost feeling a low growl emit from his mouth.

"He was right THERE!" he growled. "He's right here in Beacon…and I can't do anything about it."

"Why not?" Nasser questioned.

"Even if I went to the authorities by myself, I don't have any evidence to prove what happened," Ruo answered. "Plus, since I'm also a Faunus…they'd probably just wave it off. Which is why I need to ask a huge favor of Math and Robin."

"If it means putting him behind bars, then so be it," Math assured. "What do you need?"

"Your Uncle Gormen is in the VSU," the Faunus stated. "You've said it yourselves; the VSU are the top law enforcement in Vale. He'll listen to you, meaning he'll listen to me."

"Well…" Math started, but trailed off. "I can call Uncle Gormen and arrange a meeting. You tell him what happened and we see from there, but we can't make any promises."

"What do you mean?" Ruo asked a bit more aggressively. "Your Uncle Gormen has no reason to think I would lie."

"It's not that," Robin interrupted, making him the center of attention. "Things aren't simple in the VSU. They can only access cases from other kingdoms with permission from the other Special Units. They'd have to ask the MSU for permission to look over the case."

"Guys, this man killed my father," Ruo growled. "He ruined my life…just for some Lien. I must see him punished."

"We'll do what we can," Math assured. "You're asking us for help and this is what we're doing. If the VSU can't access the case-"

"They have to," Ruo interrupted. "He murdered a Mistrali doctor. They have to look into it."

Math and Robin didn't know what to tell him. There was no guarantee that the medic would be arrested for murdering Guiren Bai Hu.

They were fearful of what would happen if Gormen couldn't access the case. Ruo had almost never acted this aggressive before, except when Blake had run away and he was quick to throw her to the wolves. But this was far worse.

The Faunus had run into the man who had killed his father, pushed his mother to become an abuser and made him suffer. The scars of what happened were rising and taking the form of their teammates becoming more aggressive and angry. If the VSU wasn't able to examine the case and arrest the medic…

"We'll do what we can," Math assured. "Hopefully, we'll see that man behind bars."

"There's no reason why he shouldn't," Ruo stated. "When they realize that the facts surrounding my father's murder is nonsense, they'll have to arrest him." He then got up from the bed and started to pace a little.

"None of you understand this," he claimed. "We're talking about the man who got away with killing my father by blaming my mother…just because she was a Faunus. That monster ruined my life!"

None of them knew how to respond. Ruo had every right to be angry at this turns of events. Never in a hundred years did he expect to run into this man who had shot his father, who he blamed for his mother's descent into violence. He needed closure, but most importantly, he needed justice...and if that didn't work, he'll choose revenge.

"Let me know when the meeting is," the Faunus requested. "I need this."

"Yang knows this, doesn't she?" Robin asked his teammate. "That's why she pulled you away?"

"Yeah," Ruo admitted. "She knows."

"We'll get this bastard," Math assured.

"Thanks," the Faunus replied.

-0-

"You hope to go up against Team CRDL in the Tournament?" Robin asked as he and Coco walked away from the restaurant they had dinner at.

"It'd certainly feel good to beat the crap out of them for picking on Velvet," the fashionista chuckled.

"So if you win this round, who do you plan to elect to move on?" the archer asked.

"We decided that Yatsu and I will move on if we win," Coco informed. "How's your cousin, Safirlas, doing? That was quite a match today."

"She said fighting Terrence was a real challenge," Robin replied as they crossed the street. "That guy was really tough."

"I'll say," the heavy gunner agreed. "He managed to knock out both Imamu and Medeia. On a side note, she's quite the martial artist."

"Yeah," Robin responded. "She's the most focused on martial arts among us."

Coco could see something was off about her boyfriend. Instead of his usual smile and cocky presence, she sensed an anger and sadness in him.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"What?" Robin asked. "Nothing."

"Robin," she addressed with a dead serious tone. "I know you too well. What's bothering you?" The archer sighed.

"My dad called me earlier today," he started. "Dearg's moving in back with us."

"He's moving back?" Coco asked for clarification.

"Yes," the archer confirmed. "It'll be the same thing all over again."

"You don't know that." Robin glared over at Coco, a suppressed anger in his eyes.

"My brother has had years to change and he never did," he stated. "All he did was push the blame on me because I called the cops on him. Bringing him back is a mistake."

"Don't you think you're being too hard on him?" the fashionista asked. "You told me what happened. Maybe he just needs help."

"No, I'm not being too hard on him," the archer denied. "Don't make me into the bad guy here."

"I'm not, Robin," Coco sternly replied. "I don't like what Dearg has done to you either. He's been selfish and irresponsible, yes, but he may need help. You told me he watched his entire team die on a mission."

"I know perfectly well what he's been through, because my team almost got killed on our mission too," the archer argued. "But you know what? I'm not going around treating people like crap. I'm not pushing people around because I'm mad. He knows what he's doing is wrong, but he doesn't want to admit it."

Coco was surprised by how Robin was acting. Any time Dearg was brought up, Robin adamantly refused to believe he would change. He'd refuse to hear anything that he'd feel painted him as the bad guy and Dearg as the victim. In the archer's eyes, his brother was no longer a victim; he was someone who using their trauma as an excuse to justify all his selfishness and irresponsibility.

"Robin…" Coco started but trailed off. "I'm sorry for how you feel." The archer sighed once more, seeming apologetic for how he reacted.

"Everyone acts like forgiving Dearg is easy, but it's not. They don't understand how his actions affected me, how they still affect me. I love my dad, but I think he's being an idiot for letting Dearg move in back with us."

"Maybe he's being open to the idea of Dearg changing," Coco insisted.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Robin questioned as he stopped walking and turned to face Coco.

"It means you're being narrow-minded," the fashionista clarified. "I would know because I felt the same way about Fox. Don't you remember what I said?"

"What does that-?"

"I used to feel that Fox would never change," Coco interrupted. "Believe me, we were all victims of him being an asshole. I used to think because of how much he refused to listen, how much he continued to act that way, that he'd never change. After I had enough, I requested that Fox be removed from our team. That was until I found out why he was such an asshole."

"Why's that?" the archer asked.

"His parents abused him," Coco revealed. "They beat him, so that's why he has all those scars. They treated him as nothing but some kind of object for them to take their anger out on. They'd use any excuse, even make something up, to beat him. Finally, after accidentally breaking a shelf, they threw him out of their house and locked him out, even though it was raining cats and dogs."

Robin's eyes widened at this revelation. He had known that Fox was a huge jerk when Team CFVY was first formed, but thought it was simply out of arrogance. Hearing this was a shock to the archer.

"Dearg is an asshole too, but that's because he's suffering," Coco pointed out. "He needs help just as Fox needed help."

"That doesn't justify what he's done," Robin argued. "He nearly ruined my chances of becoming a Huntsman and for what? Because he didn't want me to leave. He just wanted me to be some object for him to take his anger out on. Why are you making me the bad guy here?"

"I never said you were," Coco denied, taking off her glasses to show her angered brown eyes. "But I think you need to give Dearg a chance. People can change."

"Not people like him," the archer growled. "And I don't need to do anything."

Coco sighed in frustration. She knew that Dearg had hurt Robin, but she had come to believe that he was mostly a victim in need of help. He was suffering…and she had seen what suffering can do to a person since she saw it from Fox. She was frustrated at the fact that despite everything she was pointing out, he was still refusing to listen, blinded by his own pain.

"It's obvious that you're not a mind to listen right now," the fashionista concluded. "Hopefully, you'll consider what I've said." Robin shook his head and walked away from Coco.

"Where are you going?" she demanded to know.

"Back to Beacon," he snarled.

Coco shook her head at how her boyfriend was acting. He was acting nothing like the man who had won her heart, instead like someone blinded by his pain and anger.

-0-

Math was on his laptop in the lounging area, despite it being late at night. He wasn't typing up stories as he liked to; instead, he was on the Dorado Mining Company website, looking through the employee pages. Finally, he found what he was looking for: Donovan Katur.

He clicked on the name and a page uploaded, showing a smiling image of Donovan in a suit with the 'DMC' logo on the left side. Underneath the image was the message **'Donovan Katur, Assistant Manager of Dust Delivery and Distribution. We are very fortunate to have him here at the Dorado Mining Company.'**. Underneath it was another message reading **'Hello. My name is Donovan Katur and I am happy to be working here. I assure you I will do all I can for this company and its consumers. I will do what I can to keep this company's reputation as stainless as possible.'**.

Math growled a little as he read the page. He had all these messages that painted him as a good, hard-working man who cared about others, which made Math's blood boil. He knew that all of these messages were just lies to hide his true self as a selfish and irresponsible man.

He then looked up messages relating to his father, hoping to find some saying how much of a selfish jerk he was. He only managed to a find a few.

" **Donovan Katur is a piece of a**! I requested time off for my cousin's wedding and he said yes! On the day it happened, he called and requested I come in. I told him I couldn't, so he gave me an hour to come in or he'd fire me! I refused and he lied saying that I never had the day off! Someone get rid of him!"**

Luke Violet

" **Donovan Katur only cares about himself! He's always yelling, always getting mad, always losing his temper! He never takes any responsibility for his actions and blames everyone else! He's a lousy piece of crap and doesn't deserve to work here!"**

Jason Blue

"Come to bed," a voice gently spoke. Math looked at the entrance, the light from his laptop showing Pyrrha Nikos in her pajamas. When he didn't give a response, she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"Have you told them?" she asked.

"No," Math admitted. "My teammates, yes. My mother and sister…no. I don't know how they'll react, Safirlas especially. She took Donovan's abandonment the worst out of us."

"Why?" Pyrrha asked.

"He often treated her like she didn't exist," Math revealed. "As usual, when my mom brought it up, he refused to listen. It's like she never had a father."

"I'm so sorry," the redhead apologized before gently pecking Math's cheek. She looked at the laptop screen to see the hate messages Donovan received.

"Don't do this to yourself," she pleaded. "He doesn't have to be a part of your life anymore."

"I just never thought I'd see him again," the swordsman confessed. "I honestly hoped I wouldn't. Now…I don't know whether I should just leave it be or go...and tell him what he needs to hear."

"Math, you said yourself how he refused to acknowledge his mistakes," Pyrrha reminded. "If you did go to see him, he may just ignore everything you say."

She had a point. Donovan never took responsibility for his actions and choices; he always blamed others for his mistakes. There was a huge possibility that if Math went to confront his biological father, he'd just ignore every word that spoke out against him.

Pyrrha moved the mouse over and clicked on the red X, exiting the website. She then moved over and sat down on Math's lap, holding his face with both her hands.

"You've been through so much, Math," she spoke. "You made it here and you have a bright future ahead of you. If all this man did was bring you pain, then let him go. Let him stay in the past." She didn't wait for a response this time; she firmly placed her lips on Math's, not stopping until he sunk into it. She could tell he did so when he wrapped his arms around her…and then picked her up.

She was taken a little by surprise by this, but kept wrapped her legs around him so she wouldn't fall off. He took her over to the couch where he laid her down before crawling on top of her and continuing their kiss. After a few moments, he broke off before kissing her neck, earning a few moans from the Amazon.

Her skin was so soft and smooth. He didn't want to stop as a new feeling arose: desire. He had fallen in love with Pyrrha for her heart, her abilities, her beauty, her kindness and her acceptance of him, despite his Asperger's.

He'd be lying if he said he hadn't thought about getting much more physical with her; after all, who wouldn't? His assault on her neck was cut off when Pyrrha flipped them over, laying on top of him and kissing him again, messing with his hair as she did.

The desire to take Pyrrha was growing stronger by the minute as they kept up their heated make out session. It was taking all of his willpower to keep the urge under control, but also fear that Pyrrha may not feel the same way.

Finally, Math broke away from her. She tried to kiss him again, but he held his hands up, stopping her from reaching him.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I think…that's enough for one night," he claimed. She was hesitant for a moment, but nodded her agreement and got off of him.

"Would you like to spend the night together again?" she offered, feeling it may help Mathdon.

"Not tonight," he answered.

"Okay," Pyrrha replied. The swordsman grabbed his laptop and exited the lounge with Pyrrha, heading back to the dorms. Upon arriving to his, she kissed him goodnight and walked down to her dorm door.

Two thoughts ran through Math's mind. The first was about Donovan. Was he really something he needed to forget and act like he never saw him? Or must he take a risk and confront him, even if it's futile? He was very conflicted on how to approach this issue.

The second was the rising desire he had felt with Pyrrha. He didn't believe he should this way yet; they weren't of legal age and there was no telling what would happen if they took the next step…if Pyrrha even wanted to take the next step. For all he knew, she may've not thought of it yet. He feared that if he brought it up and Pyrrha wasn't ready to go that far, he could damage their relationship.

"For now, I'll keep to myself," he whispered. "I don't want to mess things up with her. But Donovan…"

He needed to decide what to do about him. He needed to decide whether to forget him or risk more heartbreak to confront him.

 **Author's Notes: I hope you're still enjoying this Fanfic everyone. If you have any constructive criticism to offer me, then write a review or PM me! Take care, my fellow writers!**


	7. The Gray Wanderer

**RWBY: MRRN**

 **Volume 3, Chapter 7: The Gray Wanderer**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

 **"The randomization process is done!"** Port announced. **"Team JNPR of Beacon vs. Team BRNZ of Shade!"**

"That's us," Pyrrha told her friends. "We better be off."

"Finally, we get to fight!" Nora cheered, leaping from her seat. Pyrrha leaned over to Math, who she had been sitting next to, and pecked his cheek before leaving with Jaune, Nora and Ren.

"Do well out there!" he called out to her.

"Don't worry, Pyrrha," Robin assured. "We'll make sure he waves in the right direction this time." This earned an annoyed groan from Mathdon and a giggle from Pyrrha.

"Math, that is too good to let go of," Yang teased as well. Math groaned again in annoyance.

"Look, there's your girl!" Nasser called to Math as Team JNPR and Team BRNZ advanced onto the arena. Team JNPR's side was the mountain stage while Team BRNZ's was the same forest that Team MRRN had during their match against SNOW.

"Kick their butts, Pyrrha!" Math cheered.

" **3,"** Port started the countdown as both teams prepared for their fight.

"This isn't going to be fun," Mercury complained as he ate some popcorn. "We already know who's going to win."

"Maybe," Cinder agreed. "But that doesn't mean it won't be entertaining."

" **2,"** Port continued.

"You okay, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked her team leader.

"I'm fine," the blonde leader of Team JNPR responded.

"Just remember our training," she assured. "We can win this."

"How about remembering to look good for your boyfriend~?" Nora teased, earning a glare from the Amazon. As soon as she turned away, Pyrrha blushed at how she knew Math was cheering for her.

" **1…BEGIN!"** With that said, Teams JNPR and BRNZ charged at each other, while May Zedong of BRNZ retreated into the forest and took shots at Team JNPR. After a minor retreat, Team JNPR returned to the field.

"Well, Jaune's improved," Weiss complimented.

"He has," Math agreed. "But he's got nothing on Pyrrha." He watched as his girlfriend fought against the members of Team BRNZ effortlessly, taking down two of them with a shield throw.

One of the BRNZ members, Nolan Porfirio, electrocuted Ren with his Cattle Prod. He tried to do the same to Nora; instead of being injured, Nora looked up at Nolan with a devilish smirk on her face.

" **Oho,"** Port announced. **"Looks like one of my favorite students, Nora Valkyrie, is charging up to use her Semblance."**

"Semblance?" Yang wondered.

" **Yes,"** Dr. Oobleck added. **"Ms. Valkyrie's Semblance lets her produce, as well as channel, electrical energy straight to her muscles. This allows her to jump explosively into the air, wield her mighty hammer, or in this case, absorb Nolan's attack and send the young man flying!"**

"Uh oh," Math chuckled. As suspected, Nora sent Nolan flying into a boulder. This prompted Jaune to send Nora to the mountain to absorb lightning while the rest of the team fought off Team BRNZ.

"Whoo!" Math cheered. "Go Team JNPR!"

"Team JNPR or just Pyrrha~?" Robin teased his cousin once more, earning a rather sour glare from Math.

After Nora absorbed enough lightning, she fired all of her grenades on the forest stage, followed by a powerful hammer slam that sent all of Team BRNZ onto their backs. Jaune called out "Ren, Nora, FlowerPower!" All of a sudden, Team JNPR go together in a discussion with Jaune trying to explain their team moves.

"Seriously, Jaune?" Math groaned. "You're going to explain team moves during a fight?" Everyone started booing at what was going on, sharing the reaction of disbelief. Suddenly, Nora leapt over to Team BRNZ and took out all four of them with a swing of Maghnild.

" **Wow!"** Port announced. **"Total knockout! Team JNPR moves onto the Doubles' Rounds! Can someone make sure Team BRNZ is okay?"**

Teams MRRN and RWBY cheered for their friends and immediately went down to the locker room to congratulate them. Math immediately picked Pyrrha up in a hug and spun her around, laughing as he did.

"Explaining team moves during the match?" Ruo asked Jaune bluntly. "Seriously?"

"We discussed it beforehand," Jaune claimed. "Ren brings the flower, Nora brings the power."

"Ren brings a flower?" Math asked after letting Pyrrha down and holding her. "How does that work?"

"Probably the same way you can't keep your hands off Pyrrha~," Yang teased. Pyrrha blushed as she buried her face into Math's shoulder at Yang's comment.

"I don't have a problem with it," she replied.

"It's Ren's symbol," Jaune explained.

"That still doesn't make sense," Ruo replied. "You may want to reconsider a name change."

"Duh," Nora agreed. "It's not 'a flower'. It's 'flour' like in baking." Everyone raised an eye at Nora.

"Baking?" Math asked. "You said that because you love pancakes, didn't you?"

"No," Nora denied. "Maybe…yes…I want pancakes."

"You always want pancakes," Ruo pointed out.

"You always want pizza," Robin teased the Faunus, earning a glare from his partner.

"Well, have you guys thought about who'd go to the Doubles' Rounds?" Ruby asked.

"We voted for Pyrrha and Nora," Ren answered.

"We'll be happy to represent our team in the Doubles' Rounds," Pyrrha spoke, still close to Math.

"Yeah, it means we have more legs to break," Nora chuckled devilishly, making Jaune and Ren back away from her.

"I don't know about you, but I believe I worked up an appetite," Pyrrha spoke. "Would any of you care to join us for lunch?"

"I think we'll stay and watch the last match for the day," Ruby answered.

"Well, I certainly won't turn down lunch," Robin agreed. "We'll watch the final match on our scrolls." Team MRRN and JNPR headed to the docks that would take them from the colosseum to the fairgrounds while Team RWBY stayed.

"You did awesome out there," Math complimented Team JNPR as they were on the small ship leaving the Amity Colosseum. "You've really improved, Jaune."

"Thanks," he responded. "It hasn't been easy, that's for sure."

"How are you and Weiss doing?" Ruo asked the leader of Team JNPR. "Have you two considered the idea of a romantic relationship? She's been much cozier around you ever since the dance."

"I've brought it up to her, but I don't know if she's really…invested in the idea," Jaune answered. "I don't know if that dance was enough to convince her to want to date me."

"Who knows?" Robin suggested. "For all we know, she's probably waiting for you to ask her." The ship landed at the docks of Beacon, where the fairgrounds were only several minutes away.

Upon arriving at one of the stalls, making sure it had TV, the eight sat down and ordered their lunches. Math was prepared to pay for his team, but once again, his wallet was gone. He looked over at Pyrrha, holding it in her hand with a sheepish grin as she paid.

"Stop doing that," Math demanded as he walked over and took back his wallet. "I appreciate what you're doing, but you don't have to pay for everything."

"Come on, she's just being nice," Jaune scolded Math, making him groan.

"I know," he replied before thinking to himself "Sometimes, she's TOO nice."

" **Vacuo fans are sure to be hurting after that last match, but this one will have them on the edge of their seats,"** Oobleck said on the TV.

" **Team NDGO of Shade is certainly a crowd favorite,"** Port announced, making Nasser immediately pay attention to the TV.

"Octavia's team is going up?!" he gasped. "I should've stayed at the Colosseum."

"Hey, she won't hold it against you," Robin assured.

" **But these lovely ladies are going up against some of the toughest, testosterone-filled teammates we've seen so far,"** Port continued.

"I thought that was us," Robin cockily bragged.

"Well, not you," Math teased.

" **I'm of course talking about…Team SSSN!"** Port informed.

"Oh, please," Nasser dismissed. "Toughest, testosterone-filled? More like 'cocky pretty boys'."

"Sage and Scarlet are cool," Ruo informed. "I think your insult is mostly directed towards Neptune and Sun."

"Well, I just hope Octavia manages to take out Sun," Nasser grinned. "I've been more than wanting to see someone wipe that cocky smirk off his face."

"I'm honestly on board with that," Math agreed. Oobleck started the countdown and announced the start of the match. Immediately, Neptune ran away from their side of the arena and rushed up NDGO's. Nasser wore an expression of disbelief on his face.

"Wow, he's so afraid of water, he's willing to ditch his teammates," he groaned.

"Whatever made him scared of water must've been very traumatic," Math pointed out. During the match, Math's scroll went off. He picked it from his pocket and opened it; he smiled big after seeing the name 'Glaucus' on the screen.

"Hey," he greeted, leaving the stall to talk. "It's been a long while."

" _Indeed, it has,"_ Glaucus agreed. _"How's life been at Beacon? You haven't really told me."_

"Well, I was made leader of Team MRRN," Math explained. "I have some great friends and an amazing girlfriend, Pyrrha Nikos."

" _The Mistral Tournament champion?"_ the Gray Warrior asked. _"What is she like personally?"_

"Responsible, brave, absolute sweetheart, caring…she's amazing, Glaucus," Math sighed.

" _You've always had a thing for kind-hearted women,"_ Glaucus brought up. _"I saw your match during the Tournament. You and your team have done very well."_

"You saw our match?!" Math gasped somewhat excitedly. "I didn't know. I though Forest might've, considering he's in Vale, but I honestly didn't know about you, considering how much you travel."

" _Forest is in Vale?"_ Glaucus asked for confirmation.

"He's been here for weeks," Math informed. "He's been busy, so I've only spoken to him a few times." There was a pause in the conversation on Glaucus's end.

"Glaucus?" Math asked.

" _Oh, I'm sorry,"_ he apologized. _"Are you at Beacon?"_

"I'm at the fairgrounds with my teammates," Math answered. "Why?"

" _I'll be there soon,"_ the Gray Warrior informed. _"I look forward to seeing you again."_ With that said, Glaucus hung up, leaving Math to slowly put his scroll back in his pocket.

"Dammit!" Nasser shouted, immediately grabbing Math's attention, prompting him to walk back to the stall.

"What?" the swordsman asked as he sat down.

"Team NDGO lost," Nasser growled. "Can't believe those clowns won."

"You're just mad because it was your girlfriend's team~" Robin teased, earning a low growl and glare from Nasser.

"She's not my girlfriend," he denied.

"Uh huh," Robin responded. "Nas, I played that game with Math for around half a semester. I know what's going on."

"Whatever," Nasser responded before getting up from his seat and leaving.

"Is he okay?" Jaune asked. "Nasser's been a bit more…jerkish lately."

"He's dealing with a very big issue right now," Math answered. "One he'd rather keep personal. But I will agree he's been a bit more jerkish too." Robin's scroll went off; he opened it to see 'Sexy Girlfriend' on the screen. Instead of answering, Robin hung up.

"Why'd you hang up on Coco?" Math asked his cousin, knowing he'd never reject a call from his girlfriend.

"I don't want to talk about it," Robin answered as he got up and left the stall as well, heading back to Beacon. Math and Ruo looked at each other with confused expressions on their faces. They knew that Dearg's return home had angered Robin, but what did he have against Coco?

"I guess Nas is not the only one being a jerk right now," Math sighed. After they finished lunch, they all went back to Beacon since the matches were over for the day.

"Hey, Math," a voice called out. The swordsman turned around to see none other than Robin's fashionista girlfriend.

"What's up?" he greeted.

"Have you seen Robin?" she asked. "I called earlier, but he rejected it."

"I know," he informed. "He was with us at the fairgrounds for lunch. Did something happen?"

"We had a bit of an argument last night," she answered.

"About Dearg?" Math guessed. Coco nodded her head, confirming it.

"I think he went back to our dorm," the swordsman assumed.

"Thanks," Coco replied. "I'm worried about him."

"So am I," Math agreed. "Robin's never acted like this before. This whole thing with Dearg is affecting him more than I thought."

"Well, I'm going to try and find him," the fashionista informed before walking off into the Academy.

Math was deeply worried about all of his teammates right now. Encountering the people they did had put them on edge, made them more prone to aggression, especially Ruo. He felt that if something wasn't done soon to heal the damage, things would only get worse. He already had the idea of calling Uncle Gormen in the hopes of getting the medic arrested, but he had no idea how to alleviate the damage to Nasser and Robin.

He knew full well what it was like to hold anger for a family member who had hurt them. He had held onto his anger for his father for years until his years of training with Glaucus and Forest made him feel less of that pain. But how could it be done for Robin and Nasser?

"Hey," a voice called, snapping Math out of his thoughts. He turned to see that the voice belonged to Nasser, walking up to him.

"Hey," he replied. "You feeling better?"

"A little," the knife user answered. "I just don't know what to do about Cassim. I know Mom wants me to give him a chance, but…"

"You're afraid history will repeat itself," Math assumed.

"Yes," he answered. "I mean, I don't think he even regrets what he did to us. I think he's just going to wait until he can find a way to make more money and then bail on us again."

"Does he seem…genuine about wanting to change?" the swordsman asked as they sat down on a bench.

"Not to me," Nasser denied. "Every time he called me, he'd always want something. Then he'd get on me for being selfish when he's the one who…Grrr." He growled in anger at Cassim.

"If he thinks he can just come back and act like nothing happened, then he's wrong. He has no idea how much damage he's done." He got up and walked away from Math. The swordsman shook his head in frustration.

Suddenly, his scroll went off. Math opened it to see that he had received a text message from…Glaucus. He opened the message to read _'At the east dock.'_

In that instant, all the trouble he was feeling went away; his mentor was here at Beacon. He rushed away from the bench and towards the docks, hoping to find his mentor. As he was looking, Weiss and Ruby rushed past him, heading for one of the further docks.

Just then, Math saw who he was looking for. He cupped his mouth and shouted "GLAUCUS!" His mentor, who was looking away, turned to see him running towards him and opened his arms with a big smile.

"Math!" he greeted as the two hugged and chuckled before pulling away from each other. "Well, well, you seem to be doing well for yourself."

"You as well," Math returned the compliment. He noticed that Glaucus looked a little worn and his weapon, which consisted of a staff with Dust compartments and doubled as a scabbard for his straight sword, had taken some bits of damage.

"You've been out fighting Grimm?" the swordsman asked.

"It's been very busy for me these past several weeks," Glaucus informed. "My missions have been taking me all over Remnant."

"Everywhere?" Math asked excitedly.

"And I've heard several things on my way here," the Gray Wanderer added. "I heard about your mission from Ozpin. I'm sorry I wasn't there; I'm just happy Forest was."

"Yeah," Math replied, his growing distrust for Ozpin being remembered. He and his teammates had thought long and hard about why Ozpin would knowingly send them there, against a foe they had zero chance against. Why would their Headmaster do something like that? Why would he send them on a mission they were clearly not prepared for?

"We ran into the Iron Knights," Math explained, thinking carefully before adding "And a man named Valkoin."

Just then, the warm smile on Glaucus's face dissolved into one of shock. Math was worried that he had said something that had worried his mentor; he didn't know it, but he did.

"Are you certain?" he asked.

"White hair, shades, used wires," Math explained. "He was with the Knights."

"Ozpin sent them against Valkoin?!"Glaucus thought to himself. "What the hell was he thinking?"

"Is everything okay?" the autistic swordsman asked. Glaucus internally regained his composure and put on his same smile from before.

"Everything's fine," he assured. "I'm just glad you and your team made it back safely."

"Yeah," Math agreed. "What brings you here to Beacon?"

"First, I wanted to see how my student did in the Tournament," the Gray Wanderer responded. "As I said, you did very well. But my main reason is that I must talk to Ozpin."

"Ozpin?" the swordsman asked. "What about?"

"I'm afraid I cannot disclose it," Glaucus replied. "It's very sensitive information."

"I understand." Just then, a loud boom went off in the distance, startling everyone.

"What was that?" Math wondered.

"Let's go," Glaucus insisted, running off in the direction of the sound, followed by Math.

Upon arriving at the docks, they saw plenty of students gathering around what looked like a fight. Glaucus looked off to his left to see two fighters plummet into the ground before attacking each other. The Gray Wanderer immediately recognized them and groaned in frustration.

"Are you serious, Qrow?" the Gray Wanderer growled.

"Qrow?" Math asked his mentor.

"Math!" Ruby called out as she emerged from the crowd. "What're you doing here? And who is he?"

"I'm Glaucus," the veteran Huntsman answered. "What happened here?"

"That crazy guy just appeared and attacked my sister!" Weiss explained. "Then Ruby had the gall to cheer for him!"

"Well, he is my uncle," Ruby reminded her teammate, earning a huff from the Schnee heiress. Just as the two fighters charge at each other, a third combatant entered the fight and powerfully knocked their weapons aside with his staff and sword. The two of them looked in surprise before looking to see that the person who disarmed them was Glaucus Viisaus.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" he scolded them, sheathing his weapon. Just then, General Ironwood appeared with four Atlesian Knights behind him and a redhaired girl with a pink bow in her hair.

"What is going on here?" he demanded to know.

"General, he's the one who started the altercation," Winter claimed.

"That's actually not true," Qrow responded. "She attacked first."

"Well, from the sound of it, you wanted to fight her," Glaucus reminded Qrow. "So don't act all innocent, you drunk." This earned him a sour glare from the scythe user.

"Glaucus?" Ironwood asked, approaching him. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to talk with Ozpin," the Gray Wanderer responded. "And to ask several questions."

"Such as?" Ironwood asked. Before Glaucus could answer, Ozpin and Goodwitch appeared.

"If you want sanctioned fights, then I'd suggest you go to the Amity Colosseum tomorrow when the fights continue," Ozpin suggested. "I assure it has better seats…and popcorn."

"Break it up, everyone!" Goodwitch demanded. "We will take care of this mess."

"Let's go," Ironwood commanded. The Atlesian Knights, Winter, after retrieving her weapon, and the redheaded girl walked away with the Atlesian General from the fight scene. Glaucus walked up to Qrow with a sour glare on his face.

"What were you thinking?" he whispered. "Starting a fight here? People could've been hurt."

"No one got hurt," Qrow pointed out. Glaucus could immediately tell he was drunk, much to his annoyance.

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby called out, leaping and grabbing his arm. "I'm so glad to see you! Did you miss me? DID YOU MISS ME!?"

"Nope," Qrow jokingly replied before messing with her hair.

"Qrow, Glaucus," Ozpin called out as Glynda repaired the damage from the fight. "A word, if you'd please."

"I think I'm in trouble," Qrow whispered to Ruby.

"You started a fight that tore up the courtyard," Glaucus pointed out.

"Did you meet Glaucus, Pipsqueak?" the drunk fighter asked. "He's a real party pooper."

"I'm simply intolerant of nonsense and stupidity from Huntsmen who know better," the Gray Wanderer retaliated.

"Qrow, Glaucus," Ozpin called out once more.

"Catch you later, kid," the scythe user chuckled before departing with a fist bump.

"You know him?" Math asked his mentor.

"Qrow Branwen," Glaucus informed. "Good fighter, but sometimes forgets when to stop drinking. Not that I can truly blame him."

"What do you mean?" the swordsman asked.

"It's not for me to tell," Glaucus responded. "Perhaps when I'm done speaking with Ozpin, you wouldn't mind introducing me to some of your friends. Do they know?"

"Only my teammates and Pyrrha," Math answered. "The rest…I haven't told them."

"I understand," Glaucus assured. "I'll talk to you later." He nodded his head before walking away behind Qrow and Ozpin.

"Suddenly, her recklessness makes sense," Weiss said.

"You're just mad because he whooped butt," Ruby cockily bragged.

"That was a draw at best," the Schnee heiress claimed.

-0-

"Are you certain?" Cinder asked.

"Bad hair, used a scythe and smelled like my Dad after a long day…it was him," Mercury assured. "He's not the only one."

"What do you mean?" the ashen-haired woman demanded to know.

"Before I left, I saw another guy," the martial artist added. "It was Glaucus Viisaus. There's no mistaking him."

"This isn't good," Emerald spoke. "Forest Kotka, Sterling Silver, Ruadh Davis…and now Qrow Branwen and Glaucus Viisaus? We've got five veteran Huntsmen to worry about."

Cinder wouldn't show it, but she was a bit worried. They were already having to lay low with Forest around, but he didn't come anywhere near Beacon due to the enmity between him and Ozpin. As long as they didn't attract attention outside of Beacon, they would be fine.

Now Qrow Branwen, who had been there at the attack, and Glaucus Viisaus were now here as well. Even though Qrow hadn't caught their faces, they were bound to look familiar to him. If he was able to deduce who they were, the plan would be ruined.

"Calm yourself, Emerald," Cinder demanded. "They have no idea who we are. As long as we don't do anything to attract attention more than necessary, we should be fine." She walked over to the table and picked up her scroll.

"After all, they don't know it, but we're in control of the system now, thanks to our clever friend," Cinder informed. "The heavy lifting is done. Now all we need to do is make sure everything else goes according to plan. Emerald, did you find out who Team RWBY is sending to the Doubles' Rounds?"

"Yang Xiao Long and Weiss Schnee," Emerald informed. "Basically, the heiress and the bimbo."

"So, Yang Xiao Long and Weiss Schnee for RWBY, Pyrrha Nikos and Nora Valkyrie for JNPR, and Mathdon Kendrick and Robin Kendrick for MRRN," Mercury listed off. "Should be fun."

"It should, Mercury," Cinder agreed. "I've already paired you two up against Coco Adel and Yatsuhashi Daichi."

"Sounds good," Mercury chuckled. "We can take them no problem. They're both heavy hitters with nothing to balance them out."

"Go to your rooms," Cinder instructed. "I will need you both ready for the Doubles' Rounds when they begin."

"Yay, bed!" Mercury cheered as he left the room with Emerald behind him.

"They think having all the veterans against us here will make us scared," Cinder grinned as she rigged the lineup for the Doubles' Rounds. "But if our plan works to perfection, we can wipe them out in one fell swoop. After all…this is the beginning of the end for you, Professor Ozpin."

 **Author's Notes: I hope you're still enjoying this Fanfic so far. If you have any constructive criticism you wish to share, then post a review or PM me! Enjoy and continue writing!**

 **Also,make sure to vote on the poll on my profile for your favorite member of Team MRRN!**


	8. The Terrible Truth

**RWBY: MRRN**

 **Volume 3, Chapter 8: The Terrible Truth**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

Winter paced the floor of Ozpin's office, Ironwood leaning on the Headmaster's desk as they waited for Ozpin to show up. The elevator beeped and opened to show Ozpin, Goodwitch, Glaucus and Qrow, who smirked at Winter.

"What were you thinking?" Winter demanded to know.

"If you were one of my men, I would have you shot," Ironwood sternly told the drunkard.

"If I was one of your men, I'd shoot myself," Qrow shot back before taking out his flask. Before he could unscrew the lid, Glaucus reached over and snatched it away.

"You've had enough for one day," he sternly told, earning a stink eye from Qrow.

"While I certainly don't condone his behavior, retaliating the way you did certainly didn't help the situation," Goodwitch scolded Winter.

"He was drunk!" the Schnee pointed out.

"He's ALWAYS drunk," Glaucus corrected. Everyone looked at Qrow, who just smirked and shrugged.

"Why are you here?" Ozpin questioned.

"You've been out of contact for weeks," Ironwood brought up. "You can't just go dark like that in the field."

"We're not your soldiers, Jimmy," Qrow told him.

"General," Winter corrected with controlled anger.

"Whatever," the scythe user dismissed. "You sent us to get intel on our enemy. I'm telling you now, they're here."

"We know," Ironwood revealed.

"Excuse me?" Glaucus questioned. "You knew our foe was here and you didn't try to contact us? I never received any calls or messages from you." Ironwood sighed.

"Glaucus-"

"No, don't justify this," the Gray Wanderer demanded. "For someone who hates being kept in the dark, you seem to have no problem doing it to others. Live by your own morals for once."

"They had reason to assume you two had possibly been compromised," Winter pointed out.

"And I have reason to assume you don't need to be here," Qrow shot back. "Seriously, who invited her?"

"Schnee, we will discuss this later on my ship," Ironwood ordered.

"Sir-"

"Now," the General repeated. Winter saluted him and left the office, but not before giving an angered look at Qrow, who winked at her. As soon as she was out, Glaucus restarted the conversation.

"What the hell were you thinking, Ozpin?" he snarled. "Sending Team MRRN to the north when you knew Valkoin was there? They are strong, but they are not strong enough to fight someone like him."

"It was supposed to be recon," the Headmaster replied. "Things weren't supposed to happen the way they did." Glaucus sighed in annoyance.

"Don't get mad, Glaucus," Qrow scolded. "You agreed that we'd let Math in on this."

"When he was ready," the staff and sword user stated. "Math and his team are not ready."

"Can we please get back to our conversation?" Goodwitch insisted, silencing the two of them.

"Qrow, what did you find out?" Ironwood asked.

"This 'infiltrator' isn't just another pawn," the scythe user informed before taking his flask back from Glaucus and unscrewing the lid. "She's the one responsible for Autumn's condition." Everyone's reaction was one of shock and surprise at this revelation.

"What?" Goodwitch gasped.

"But that doesn't make sense," Ironwood brought up. "If she's the one responsible, why would she need Dust?"

"So she could conceal her identity," Glaucus assumed. "Because of how commonly Dust is used by students and Huntsmen, she would most likely do this in the hopes of giving nothing away."

"But luckily, we found out," Ozpin brought up. "Thanks to Qrow."

"And no thanks to you, Jimmy," the scythe user insulted, earning a glare from the Atlesian General.

"What does that mean?" he demanded to know.

"You remember what Oz said, right?" Qrow questioned, putting his flask away. "We're facing an evil that almost no one else knows about. We meet behind closed doors, we work in the shadows because we know that if all of this got out, we'd be looking at another Great War. So let me ask you, James: when you brought your army to Vale, did you think you were being discreet or did you just not give a damn?" Qrow glared at Ironwood and the General just glared back.

"Discreet wasn't working," Ironwood claimed. "We tried it Ozpin's way and look what happened; Vale was breached and Alan Kura is dead. I brought that army because it was necessary. I'm here because it's necessary."

"You're here because Ozpin wanted you here," Glaucus pointed out. "Like Qrow and I, he told us of the real fight that's in front of us and asked us for our help."

"And I am grateful for that," Ironwood claimed.

"And you show your gratitude by stabbing Ozpin in the back?" Qrow called out. "Geez, what a way to say 'thank you', you metal asshole."

"The people of Vale needed someone to protect them, someone who would act," the General stated. "Our enemy is still out there and they are coming. The people of Vale know something may happen, but when they look to the sky and see my fleet, they feel safe…and our enemies will know our strength."

"You honestly think your army is the answer to our problems?" Glaucus questioned harshly. "In case you haven't looked around, people don't feel protected, they feel scared. People are wondering why you would bring so many soldiers to the Vytal Festival, which celebrates _peace and unity_ between the Four Kingdoms."

"Plus, what do you think will happen if Salem comes?" Qrow asked. "I've seen what she's made out there. If you honestly think she's scared of your little ships, then let me tell you something; Salem is fear."

"And fear will bring the Grimm," Ozpin stated, rising from his seat. "An army is a symbol of conflict, of war. There is a mass energy in the air now, a question in the back of everyone's minds: if this is the size of our defenses, then what is it we're expecting to fight?" Ironwood looked in disbelief at everyone, looking at him with contempt and disapproval of his extremist methods.

"If you have a better idea, then say so," Ironwood asked Ozpin. "Until the Festival is over, I'm not recalling my troops."

"An army may be a symbol of conflict, but a guardian-" Ozpin started, but was cut off by Glaucus.

"You're not serious about using the machine, are you?" he questioned, shock in his scowl.

"We are running out of time and options," Ozpin told Glaucus. "If this infiltrator is the one responsible for Amber's condition, then they must know she is at the Academy. We mustn't let the Fall Maiden's power fall into her hands."

"Ozpin, you are suggesting that we risk another person's life needlessly for something may not work," Glaucus stated. "You said it yourself; we have no idea what could happen. For all we know, we could might as well give the remaining powers to this assailant on a silver platter."

"Do you have a better idea?" Ironwood asked.

"I do," the Gray Wanderer assured. "We ask Forest." A mocking laugh was heard, coming from Qrow.

"You want to ask that self-righteous asshole for help?" he questioned. "He made it pretty clear he didn't want to help when he turned his back on us."

"Forest is still fighting Salem," Glaucus pointed out. "Plus, he is the best tracker I know. If we let him view the footage of the attack on the CCT, he may be able to find her without us showing our hand. They know Forest isn't associated with Ozpin anymore, so we can use that to our advantage."

"Even if we did want his help, he wouldn't listen to us," Ironwood pointed out. "The last time he was here, it was only to get on us for what happened."

"Then maybe you should've sent professionals instead of first-years," Glaucus pointed out. "He may not listen to you, but he'll listen to me."

"It's too much of a risk," Ozpin claimed. "If they discover we're onto them, then we risk disaster and panic."

"And putting a young woman in the machine is not?" Glaucus challenged. "It could kill both her and Amber. We could accidentally give the assailant the rest of the Fall Maiden's power. If you ask me, that is a far greater risk. We all know what Salem will have access to-"

"She won't," Ozpin interrupted. "Either way is risky for us, but we don't know how much time we have before they put a plan in motion. They'll have to have one to enlist both the White Fang and the Iron Knights."

Glaucus sighed. He knew Ozpin already had someone in mind for the power transfer, but there was no guarantee of things going the way they hope for.

That's not the only thing that worried Glaucus. He was afraid that Ozpin wouldn't tell the young woman of the true dangers of taking the Maiden's power. If they agreed to it and they survived, they would spend the rest of their lives being hunted down like a dog. There would be no safe place for them anywhere, not from Salem.

"Glaucus," Qrow addressed. "We sometimes got to make some decisions we're not proud of. If Ozpin says this is what has to happen, then we should do it."

"Ever loyal," Glaucus thought to himself before sighing.

"I don't like this at all, but if we go through with it, the young woman you chose deserves to know what she's truly signing up for. If she accepts this and she survives, she'll spend the rest of her life being hunted down. We need to let her know."

"We will tell her what we need to," Ozpin assured. "Salem must not have victory. We must always remember that."

-0-

"Thanks for being willing to see us, Uncle Gormen," Robin thanked as she sat down with Ruo at Gormen's desk.

"You're welcome," he replied. "You said your teammates had something very important to tell me. What is it?" Robin looked over at Ruo and gestured for him to tell his uncle. Ruo sighed heavily before mentally preparing himself to speak.

"My father, Dr. Guiren Bai Hu…was murdered years ago," Ruo confessed. Gormen's eyes widened at this.

"Your father was murdered?" he asked for clarification. Ruo nodded his head in confirmation.

"Tell me exactly what happened," he requested.

"When I was thirteen years old, my family and I came home and ran into a man who was robbing us," Ruo started. "While my father confronted him, my mom called the police. The robber and my father got into a fight and…my father was shot. When the police arrived, the robber pinned the blame on my mom for his death. They arrested her, let him walk free, and left me all alone." Gormen sat at his desk, processing everything he had heard from Ruo.

"Where did this happen?" he requested.

"Mistral," Ruo answered. "I saw the man who killed my father. He's a medic for the Tournament." Gormen pressed several highlighted buttons on his desk, going through several screens until one pulled up of the Vytal Tournament staff.

"Scroll through and tell me which one it is," he instructed. Ruo scrolled through the screen until he saw the man who committed the crime and enlarged the picture.

"Grant Denim," Gormen stated. "Are you certain this is the man who committed the crime?"

"Without a doubt," Ruo assured. There was silence for a few moments until it was broken by the VSU Officer.

"I'll contact the MSU," Gormen informed. "I can only make an arrest on him if they allow me to access the case."

"Thanks," Robin replied. "Let us know when you hear back from them." The two students walked out of the VSU Station and onto the streets of Vale.

Robin could immediately tell something was deeply bothering his White Tiger teammate as they walked down the rather quiet sidewalk. It looked as if he was doing his best to suppress a very haunting memory from his past, obviously something to do with his father's death since it was the big issue right now.

Only after reaching their dorm did Robin bother to speak to his teammate.

"Ruo…" Robin addressed.

"My parents are dead because of that Grant Denim," he snarled while some tears built in his eyes. "He murdered my father. My mother…"

"Did he…kill your mom too?" Robin asked, but was being careful not to pry too deeply.

"No," Ruo admitted. What he said next…he had no idea what motivated him to say so.

"I did."

Robin felt time stop and his heart beat faster after hearing what his teammate had said. His eyes widened in shock as he slowly turned to face and make eye contact with Ruo, who appeared on the verge of tears and anger.

"What…?" he could barely get that one word out of his mouth.

"Robin, I…" Ruo barely got out as well.

-0-

" _NO!" Ruo shouted as he quickly disarmed Lihua of her gun. She reached for a knife, but a powerful force stopped her, feeling sharp penetration in her chest._

 _Ruo stood there wide-eyed in horror as he processed the event that had just transpired. It took him a moment to realize a liquid on his fingers, touching his claws on Huzhao first. He looked over to his right hand…to see his claws impaled in his mother's chest._

" _Mom…" he barely spoke, looking at his mother's eyes as life slowly left them._

" _Why?" she asked before her eyes closed and her body fell to the ground, blood still flowing from the claw wounds inflicted on her._

" _What?" he asked himself. "What? What did…what did I…?"_

" _You monster!" the Faunus mother shouted as she held her husband and child. "How could you!?" Ruo could only look at her with utter shock at what he had done. He looked at his claw, then his mother's lifeless body._

" _I…I didn't…I don't want this!" he cried, tears freely flowing down his cheeks. He had done a truly horrible deed that day: matricide._

-0-

Robin was breathing heavily, as if trying to keep himself from fainting from Ruo telling him his darkest secret. He had never told the team what happened to his mother after he ran away…until he just told Robin now.

"You…killed her…?" he asked, still trying to wrap his head around this sudden news.

"Being in the White Fang was never my darkest secret," Ruo confessed. "That was. I murdered my own mother."

Robin had no idea how to react to this news. He had thought his mother had died of natural causes or he had never seen her again. To hear it from himself that he had killed her when she tried to murder a Faunus family…

"My mother became a monster because of Grant!" he snarled, tears now flowing down his cheeks. "Now you know how much it means to me that he pays for what he's done!"

"Why…why would you suddenly tell me this?" Robin questioned as they sat down next to each other.

"Because…I don't know," Ruo weakly answered. "I…this was a secret I kept under lock and key. Even Yang doesn't know. No one knows…except now you. Seeing Grant Denim…reliving that horrible night…I can still hear the gunshot and Dad falling to the ground. I still remembering hearing my mom's pleas…"

-0-

" _Come with us, you murderer!" the Mistral officer demanded._

" _This wasn't me!" Lihua shouted. "He was trying to rob us! He's the one who killed my husband!" The other officer laughed._

" _You expect us to believe you?" she taunted. "You probably just married him for his money. Now you want it all for yourself."_

" _I'm not the one holding the gun!" Lihua pointed out. "He's the one with a gun. You're turning a blind eye to the real murderer!" The female officer grabbed Lihua by the throat and threw her into the wall, followed by her falling onto the floor weeping._

" _Mom!" Ruo shouted as he rushed to help her. The male officer kicked Ruo away from his mother, refusing to let him help her. Ruo tried to get back up, but the officer put his foot on his chest and aimed his gun at his head._

" _Stop squirming and I won't shoot you," the officer threatened._

" _My mom didn't kill my Dad, he did!" Ruo shouted, pointing at Grant._

" _Enough with your lies!" the officer growled._

" _Leave my son alone!" Lihua growled as the female officer picked her off the floor and cuffed her._

" _Oh, he will be alone," the male officer ensured. "We're not taking him to an orphanage. He can live on the streets like the animal he is."_

" _I'm not an animal!" Ruo shouted, only to be silenced by the officer firing a round near his head._

" _Not another word," the officer demanded. "I could kill you right now and no one would give a damn. Now leave this house. You ever come near here again, I'll put a bullet in your head myself."_

" _That's illegal!" Lihua claimed._

" _There's nothing illegal about killing an animal," the officer rebuked. The two officers dragged Lihua away, leaving only Grant, Ruo and the corpse of Guiren in the house._

-0-

"They threatened to shoot you!?" Robin gasped. "Why didn't you tell Uncle Gormen this?"

"Because it would've changed nothing," Ruo claimed. "In Mistral, Faunus prejudice is encouraged much more than you realize. It's not just bullying, it's harassment, theft, murder, injustice…a human can kill a Faunus and no one cares. But if a Faunus kills a human, everyone wants him to be burned alive. You can't change the laws of Mistral from here."

"Is that part of why you were hesitant to be in a relationship with Yang?" Robin asked.

"I…I didn't want Yang to be ridiculed and hated for dating a Faunus," Ruo admitted.

"Well, once she decides on what she wants, she doesn't stop until she gets it," Robin pointed out. Just then, a loud boom was heard from outside, catching everyone's attention. A tree had been knocked down with dust flying all around it.

"What the-?!" Robin gasped. When the dust cloud cleared, it showed Sun Wukong against the tree trunk and Nasser closing in on him.

-0-

"What's going on!?" Math called out as he and Pyrrha arrived to discover the source of the sound.

"Nasser got mad at Sun and punched him," Blake answered.

"That Faunus piece of shit stole something that belongs to me!" Nasser informed angrily as he raised a necklace in his hand. "I caught him with this! This is mine, given to me by my sister!"

"I'm sorry!" Sun apologized as he got up. "You didn't have to punch me!"

"Well, you didn't have to steal my stuff, you damn thief!" Nasser called out.

"I just wanted to see it," the monkey Faunus admitted.

"So you stole it!?" Nasser shouted, putting the necklace away and drawing Shafarnasr. "I'm done with you constantly stealing our stuff!"

"Hey, come on, there's no need to get violent," Sun claimed.

"What's the matter?" he taunted. "Afraid to get your ass beat in front of Blake, Ass Wukong?"

"Ouch," Sage commented.

"Dude, watch it," Sun warned. "I'm a nice guy, but I don't take kindly to being pushed around by jerks like you."

"And I don't take kindly to kleptomaniacs who-"

"What is going on here!?" Goodwitch demanded to know as she stepped onto the scene.

"Nasser just walked up to Sun, got mad and punched him!" Neptune told her.

"Only because he stole something important from me!" Nasser added. "I'm tired of him constantly stealing everyone's stuff and acting like he does nothing wrong! Worthless fleabag!"

"Jerkass!" Sun shot back.

"Stupid thief!"

"Loudmouth!"

"Faunus Filth!"

"That's enough!" Goodwitch told them, using her Semblance to fix the damage from Nasser's kinetic-enhanced punch. "Both of you come with me."

"But he's the one who punched me," Sun reminded.

"You're the one who won't stop stealing everything," Nasser pointed out. "How could someone like you get into the Academies?"

"At least I'm not some selfish jerk who treats people like garbage," Sun shot back.

"At least-"

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Goodwitch roared, silencing the two male students. "Both of you. In Professor Ozpin's office. NOW." Nasser growled before deactivating his weapons and reluctantly walking to Professor Ozpin's office with Sun beside him.

"This is your fault," he blamed. "If you had stopped stealing from everyone-"

"Well, if you didn't punch me into a tree, then we'd definitely wouldn't be in this," the monkey Faunus shot back.

"Oh, so it's my fault?" Nasser challenged. "I'm not the one who won't respect people's personal space and privacy."

"Both of you, silent!" Goodwitch demanded. "I don't want to hear you two bickering about this all the way to the Headmaster's office."

As Nasser and Sun walked away, Math could only sigh and facepalm. He could tell that these problems all of them were having were taking a huge toll on each of them. Normally, Nasser would only get mad at Sun when he stole something; now, he had resorted to violence. Math shook his head in frustration before walking away from the scene, luckily without Pyrrha seeing him.

"Dammit, dammit," he thought to himself as he sat down on a bench.

He hated feeling helpless in the matters of his teammates. From a realistic view, there was almost nothing Math could do to solve their problems. The murderer of Ruo's father could not be put away without the VSU having permission to access the case. Robin and Nasser's brothers had returned to their lives, something they were unprepared for. Both of them were on edge and much easier to irritate and anger.

Robin was already showing this around Coco, whose calls he had been ignoring. She had told him what happened…and he felt that Robin was feeling sorry for himself and refusing to accept that Dearg was capable of change. He was using his hurt to act like a jerk, just like Nasser.

He hated feeling so hopeless in these matters, even though he knew that Robin and Nasser's had to be solved on their own. Luckily, something was done for Ruo today.

Robin had taken him to see their Uncle Gormen and explain what happened to Ruo's father. He had been called earlier and informed that the man's name was Grant Denim, so he felt somewhat eased. But overall, he was feeling an utter sense of helplessness, something he despised above all else. To him, that was no greater rage than the feeling of being unable to help people overcome their pain.

"Math?" Pyrrha asked, having noticed that her boyfriend had left the site of where Nasser attacked Sun. She could see the intense yet controlled anger in his eyes, but also mixed with sadness.

"I hate this," he admitted. "All of my teammates are dealing with issues that are putting them on edge, especially Nasser and Robin…and I can't do anything about it." Pyrrha sat down next to him and placed her arms around him.

He was dealing with his own issues as well. Seeing his father again made him conflicted about whether he should let him stay in the past or confront him, risking regret or heartbreak on either option. He didn't want to be hurt again, but he also wanted to tell his father how badly he had failed as a parent and role model for his children.

"I'm sorry," Math apologized. "I know I've been in a bit of a funk for a while now, but-"

"There's no need to apologize," Pyrrha assured. "Let's head the lounge. The Tournament will be starting up again soon."

"Sounds good," Math responded.

-0-

Team CFVY had been selected to go up against Team NERO for the next match. As Coco was getting her bag ready, Velvet noticed the look of obvious worry on her team leader.

"Are you okay, Coco?" Velvet asked.

"I'm worried about Robin," the fashionista answered. "Ever since our argument that night, he won't answer my calls, he won't talk to me…he thinks I think he's being the bad guy."

"Is he?" Fox asked.

"At first, I didn't think so, but now…yes," she answered. "He's being such a jerk right now."

"Should Yatsu and I knock some sense into him?" Fox offered.

"No," Coco sternly refused. "I need to handle this…and I need to handle it nonviolently. Things between us are bad enough as they are."

"Well…in case he does something real stupid, our offer still stands," Fox offered.

"That won't be necessary," Coco assured. "I don't want to hurt Robin because he's already hurting enough." Loud cheering came from the bleachers, signaling that it was time for them to get onto the arena.

"Let's go," Fox insisted. Even as they walked onto the arena, Coco couldn't help but feel worry for her boyfriend.

What had happened to him? She knew Robin as a cocky, somewhat vain, yet kind and charming person. He always had a smile on his face, was always one to be optimistic and was one to love a fun time.

Now, around her, he was being dismissive, rude, and somewhat quick-tempered. She didn't want him to continue on like this; she knew he couldn't go on like this. She had to get Robin to stop acting this way.

 **Author's Notes: I saw that the poll on my profile was actually switched to 'No'. If you went to my profile to vote and it wasn't there, I'm sorry.**

 **I hope you're continuing to enjoy my Fanfic and the members of Team MRRN. Keep on reading and enjoy!**


	9. Troubled

**RWBY: MRRN**

 **Volume 3, Chapter 9: Troubled**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

"This is all Sun's fault!" Nasser claimed angrily as he pulled out the necklace he had stolen. "He keeps stealing from everyone and acts-"

"That's enough!" Ozpin silenced Nasser. The knife user growled before putting the necklace away.

"I'm disappointed in both of you," the Headmaster spoke. "You waste so much time and energy fighting each other when you need to focus it on improving your skills as Huntsmen."

"Fighting?" Sun asked. "He's the one who punched me! Into a tree!"

"Not another word," Goodwitch warned, silencing the Monkey Faunus.

"Mr. Wukong, Mr. Achdarr, both of you are to blame for this situation," Ozpin stated. "Mr. Wukong, none of this would've happened if you had stopped stealing like we told you. Your lack of respect for personal space and privacy has become a big problem with several of the students here and they've been complaining about how you keep stealing from everyone."

"That was my point," Nasser pointed out.

"That's not an excuse to resort to violence," Goodwitch scolded. "I understand that you're frustrated with Mr. Wukong's kleptomaniac tendencies, but you cannot respond with violence."

"Well, maybe I'm tired of him stealing whatever he wants and acting like he did nothing wrong," Nasser shot back.

"I'm tired of it too, but that doesn't justify resorting to hurting people when you're mad at them," Ozpin responded. "This hate between you two cannot continue, which is why you two are going to shake hands and apologize. Mr. Wukong, you will apologize for constantly stealing from Mr. Achdarr and his team. Mr. Achdarr, you will apologize for attacking Mr. Wukong the way you did."

Both of them glared at each other. In Nasser's view, Sun was the only one responsible for constantly stealing and never taking responsibility. Nasser knew he could be a jerk, but Sun was a criminal. He was constantly breaking the law and Ozpin often bailed him out, just like he did for the Paladin incident months ago.

In Sun's view, it was Nasser's fault. He had always been hostile and a jerk to him, sometimes just for small reasons. He was never willing to give Sun a chance and would insult and degrade him at times, such as when he called him 'Ass Wukong'. Even when he had been nice to him, Nasser just shrugged it off.

"Well?" Ozpin asked. The two of them groaned and held out their hands, reluctantly shaking them.

"Apologize, both of you," the Beacon Headmaster demanded.

"I'm sorry for punching you into the tree, As- Sun," Nasser apologized, biting his tongue.

"I'm sorry for stealing from you," Sun apologized as well. Ozpin nodded his approval.

"Can I leave now?" Nasser asked.

"If you can assure me that you won't attack Mr. Wukong again, then yes," Ozpin replied. "Mr. Wukong, I need to address something with you." The knife user of MRRN got up from his seat and walked to the elevator while Sun stayed in his seat.

"What is it?" he asked as Nasser went down the elevator.

"Ever since you've come to Vale, you've had several run-ins with the law," Ozpin brought up. "When you first came here, you had stowed away on a ship and ran from several Vale police officers. Ever since then, whenever you went into Vale, there have been complaints of a Monkey Faunus stealing from local businesses. We know it was you, Mr. Wukong."

"Come on," Sun pleaded. "All I ever took was some food and stuff. It was nothing really expensive."

"That's not the point," Goodwitch pointed out. "Ever since the Paladin Incident, you've been on the VSU's bad list…and your recent thefts and tendencies to break the law are not helping."

"The VSU have come here twice, asking about you and wanting to put you under arrest for theft and the previous charges with the Paladin Incident," Ozpin informed. "I've bailed you out of trouble with the VSU twice, but the next time it happens, they won't ask me; they will straight up arrest you."

"Arrest me?" Sun repeated. "Look, I may steal a few things every now and then, but it's harmless."

"Tell that to the people you've stolen from," Goodwitch challenged. "We told you; this is not Vacuo. You don't get to do whatever you want here and not face consequences. Vale and Mistral have laws that need to be followed not to control people, but to keep them safe. If you don't want to follow rules, then go back to Vacuo. We're done accepting excuses, Mr. Wukong."

"She's right," Ozpin agreed. "The next time you commit a crime, the VSU will arrest you. But I think that would be a waste of potential, so until the Vytal Festival is over, you may not leave Beacon."

"What?" Sun gasped. "You can't be serious."

"I am," Ozpin replied. "Unless Professor Lionheart requests your return to Mistral, you may not leave Beacon for any reason. I know that your heart is in the right place, but that's not enough to be a Huntsman. It requires strength, morality and discipline; you are clearly lacking on the third."

"No. More. Stealing," Goodwitch stated. "Are we clear?"

Sun could not give a firm answer. He was a kleptomaniac; stealing small things seemed like nothing to him. He didn't see anything wrong with taking an apple or two…or six.

"Mr. Wukong," Ozpin addressed. "This is your last warning. One more theft outside of Beacon and you will be left to the VSU. You may leave now." Sun sighed before getting out of his seat and walking over to the elevator, an obvious negative expression on his face.

"He should go back to Vacuo," Goodwitch suggested. "He hasn't listened before and he won't now."

"Everyone will listen given the proper incentive," Ozpin replied. "Remember how Mr. Achdarr was? If he could turn around, why shouldn't Mr. Wukong?" Goodwitch sighed, knowing Ozpin was right. Suddenly, the Headmaster's desk started to beep several times, signaling an incoming call.

"It's the Council," Ozpin stated before begrudgingly answering.

-0-

 **"With that, Team CFVY moves onto the Doubles' Rounds!"** Port announced on the TV projection Math and Pyrrha were watching, with the swordsman being on the couch and Pyrrha on his lap, snuggling into his neck.

"She's worried," Math spoke.

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked.

"Didn't you notice how Coco was during the match?" the swordsman pointed out. "Usually, she is much more focused and aware in a fight. Here, she seemed…distracted. She's worried about Robin."

"Why?" the Amazon asked. Math sighed before deciding to answer.

"Robin's brother has come home after having a heart attack," the leader of MRRN revealed. "He and his brother…do not have a good relationship at all. It's very strained now."

"It's that bad?" Pyrrha asked, getting off of her boyfriend.

"Yes," he confirmed. "That's the reason why Robin hasn't been himself lately. He's hating the fact that his parents have let Dearg come home. He feels as if history's just going to repeat itself. But it's not that simple."

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked.

"Dearg lost his entire team on a mission when he was here at Beacon," Math explained. "He dropped out, started developing messy habits and often took his anger out on his family, especially Robin. I think Robin has every right to be mad, but I also think Dearg needs help."

"What about you?" the redhead asked. "You still haven't told your family about Donovan?" Math looked away from his girlfriend, making her sigh.

"You can't keep this bottled up," Pyrrha claimed. "I know you've told your teammates, but they don't know your father like your family does. If you plan on talking to him, you need to-"

"I know," Math interrupted, still facing away. "Trust me, Pyrrha. I know. I just…I have zero idea on how to handle this. I know I had thought about scenarios when I saw my father again, but I hoped it would never happen."

"That's why you need to tell them…at least your mother," Pyrrha insisted. "She can help you." There was no response from Math; instead, he was about to get up, but his girlfriend grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and sat him back down.

"Call her," she demanded, standing in front of him, her arms crossed. "This is deeply hurting you and you have no idea how to handle this. You're not leaving until that call is made."

He had no choice, but Pyrrha was right. He had no idea how to handle this situation and even straight up admitted it. He looked up at her to see that her usual kind and gentle expression was replaced with one of stern discipline; she made it perfectly clear she would not let him leave until he had informed his mother.

Math took out his scroll and dialed her number. He held it to his ear, hearing the ringing for several moments before he was greeted with _"Hello?"_

"Hey, Mom," Math replied.

" _Hey,"_ she greeted happily. _"How've you been?"_

"Good for the most part," he replied. "Mom…there's something I need to tell you."

" _What is it?"_ she asked with concern.

"I…" he started, but fell short. He didn't know how she'd react to the news, but the now softened expression of Pyrrha insisted he tell her.

"I saw Donovan a while back," he admitted. There was silence for a few moments, possibly Corcra processing this. She obviously hadn't expected to hear this from her son or daughter anytime soon.

" _Did you talk to him?"_ she asked.

"No," Math denied. "All I did was see him. He's working at the Dorado Mining Company."

" _Have you seen him since?"_ she asked once more.

"No," Math confirmed. "I've been thinking…about going to talk to him-"

" _Let me stop you there,"_ Corcra interrupted. _"Donovan made his choice and he chose to leave us. Whenever you thought of him, all you did was get angry or upset. You've every right to be angry and upset, but from the sound of it, it's really getting to you. You need to let this go."_

"What?" Math questioned.

" _Don't give me that,"_ Corcra replied. _"He thinks he has nothing to apologize for. Even if you went to him now, odds are he'd just ignore you. Don't go to talk to him. Let him stay in the past, okay?"_

"Okay," Math reluctantly agreed. "If that's what you feel, then…I won't go."

" _Good,"_ Corcra responded. _"It's not because I don't think you won't handle it maturely. It's because I know that Donovan has hurt you in the past and I don't want him to do it again. I have to get to work now. Love you, son."_

"Love you too, Mom," Math concluded before hanging up and looking up at Pyrrha again, who had a much warmer expression.

"She said what I said, didn't she?" she questioned.

"Yeah," Math confirmed, prompting his girlfriend to sit down next to him and put her head on his shoulder.

"Math, I love you and I hate how this is hurting you so badly," Pyrrha continued. "Your mother knows Donovan far better than anyone else. If she says you should stay away from him, then I'd trust her."

There was no response from Math. Even though his Mom had suggested to not talk to Donovan, the conflict was still there.

"Math," Pyrrha sternly addressed. "You need to let this go. The longer you hold onto this, the more it will hurt you."

"I know," Math replied. "You're right. I'll stop…for you." Pyrrha smiled warmly before kissing him and resting her head on his lap as the next match was about to begin.

-0-

Nasser was heading home to see his mom and sister. He didn't want to be at Beacon for a while after what happened with Sun.

"I may've been difficult, but at least I matured," he said to himself. "Too bad the same can't be said for Ass Wukong."

He was tired of the Monkey Faunus constantly stealing from everyone and continuing to act like he did nothing wrong. While he understood Sun's disdain for rules, Nasser stopped at only being a rebel; in his eyes, Sun was a criminal and had no place at Beacon or Haven.

"What could Blake ever see in him besides his abs?" the knife user wondered. "He's stupid, he has no sense of privacy, he's constantly stealing…" He didn't want to think of Sun anymore. He concluded his thoughts of the Monkey Faunus with thinking he would one day go too far and be expelled from Haven.

"Hey," a voice called out, one that angered Nasser. He turned around to see Cassim with several bags, making him suspicious.

"What's that?" he demanded to know.

"Mom needed me to pick up some groceries, so I got some," Cassim explained. The knife user retained his sour expression towards his brother.

Brother. He hated calling Cassim that after everything he had done. The urge to punch him was strong, but Nasser luckily had enough self-control to not do so.

"What did you buy?" he demanded to know.

"Groceries," Cassim repeated. "Milk, cheese, chips, sausage-"

"We don't have all the money in the world," Nasser interrupted. "Be careful what you buy."

"What is this?" Cassim questioned. "I want to try and make things right."

"Yeah," Nasser replied. "You felt that way AFTER you lost Dad's inheritance money. You felt that way AFTER spending nearly a month on the streets. Would you have felt this way BEFORE you lost the money?"

"There…could've been a slight possibility," Cassim claimed, making Nasser groan and roll his eyes.

"In other words, no," Nasser stated. "If you hadn't lost the money, you wouldn't have given us a second thought."

"I get it okay," Cassim said sternly. "I messed up. This was big-"

"It's HUGE," the member of MRRN corrected. "You abandoned us! You stole Dad's inheritance money and ran to the Upper Class District! You spent years in luxury and comfort while we struggled to make ends meet. That money was meant for all of us, not just you, but every time we brought it up, you'd always go on to say it was only yours."

"I was selfish," Cassim admitted. "I was tired of living in the dirt-"

"So you left us to live in the dirt!?" the knife user shouted. "You can't just show up at home and act like nothing happened! You can't just expect us to shout and cheer when you come back after the damage you've caused to us! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?"

"Don't yell at me!" Cassim demanded, dropping the groceries. "I screwed up bad, okay? I was greedy and selfish and only cared about what I wanted at your expense. But if Mom and Ezther can forgive me, why can't you?"

"Because they weren't the ones you called when you only wanted something," Nasser brought up. "You only ever called me when you wanted something, like after the Vytal Committee. You're still the same selfish prick who betrayed Dad."

"I don't need to hear this," Cassim dismissed as he picked the groceries back up. "I'm a new man now. I have changed. If you don't want to accept that, fine."

"Good," Nasser responded. "Because I don't think you've changed."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Cassim snarked, almost making Nasser reach for one of his knives.

Cassim had no right to talk like that to him. Nasser had been doing what he could to help his family while his brother had only been helping himself. Nasser had been there for his family this entire time while Cassim only came back when he needed a home and money.

He was entirely convinced that once Cassim got more money, he would leave again. Would he really be that stupid or selfish? Nasser would definitely believe it if he did. Cassim walked off to the house while Nasser decided to walk back to Beacon, deeming Sun the lesser of two bad choices to deal with. As he walked, he dialed his Mom's number and put the scroll to his ear.

" _Hello,"_ she greeted.

"Mom, did you send Cassim to get groceries?" Nasser asked.

" _Yes,"_ she confirmed. _"Why are you being so suspicious of him?"_

"Are you really asking me that, Mom?" the MRRN member questioned. "He betrayed us. Odds are, he'd do it again."

" _It's in the past,"_ she insisted. _"I know he hurt us, but if there's a chance he's changed, I feel we have to take it."_

"The only chance I know we're taking is whether we can handle him leaving us a second time," Nasser claimed. "I told you about his calls. He'd always call me, want something and call me selfish just for not giving him what he wants. Why would we want someone like him around?"

" _Because he's your brother!"_ she exclaimed. _"You know that your father would do the same."_

"So I guess Dad wouldn't be mad at Cassim leaving us?" Nasser challenged.

" _Watch your tone,"_ she warned. _"Your father would probably have sworn up a storm if he was here, if he had. But I also know your father would forgive him if he genuinely wanted to make things right. Why can't you be open to that?"_

"Because he's not doing this for us, he's only doing this for himself," Nasser claimed. "How can you honestly not see that?"

" _You're letting your anger get in the way of being open to acceptance,"_ his mother called out. _"You've always had a bad habit of letting your anger cloud your judgment, just like with that other student today."_

"Did they tell you why I did it?" Nasser questioned.

" _Nasser, you can't go through life letting your anger get the better of you,"_ his mom replied. _"Yes, I understand his stealing frustrated you. But you cannot answer problems with getting angry and being violent. Do you understand?"_

Nasser knew he had a temper and didn't always do a good job keeping it under control, especially when it came to issues like Cassim and Sun. Part of it was because of the anger he held for his father's death and brother's betrayal, so he wondered if he could really blame himself. The other part…he always had a temper, which he inherited from his father.

"Mom…" Nasser started but couldn't continue. "I need to go."

" _Do you at least understand what I'm saying?"_ his mother asked once more.

"I do," Nasser confirmed weakly. "Bye." He hung up and put his scroll back in his pocket, then found a bench to sit down and lay his head back.

"I didn't ask for this," he whispered to himself. "Cassim betrayed us. He knowingly betrayed us and didn't care. Sun kept stealing from everyone and acted like he did nothing wrong. Maybe I am short-tempered, but sometimes it's justified considering what those two…" He sighed once more.

"Why do I always have to be the one to blame? Can't my Mom or Ozpin see I'm just done putting up with crap from people like them?" He sat at the bench for several minutes before feeling his scroll vibrate. He pulled it out of his pocket to see that he received a text message from Octavia. It read "Want to grab lunch tomorrow?"

He smiled and replied "Where at?" After a moment, her response was "I was thinking seafood. What about Aqua's?" Nasser replied "Sounds good."

-0-

"Hey, Dad," Robin greeted on his scroll as he exited the showers from his training. "How's it been?"

" _It's been good,"_ Anrydd answered. _"We're heading out to lunch. Do you think you have time to join us? Yes, Dearg will be there."_

"No," Robin quickly answered. "I don't have time."

" _Don't have time or just don't want to?"_ Anrydd questioned. _"Robin, this is getting out of hand. Dearg-"_

"Dearg nearly ruined my life!" Robin interrupted. "And for what? Because he didn't want me to stop being something he could take his anger out on."

" _Stop it!"_ Anrydd demanded. _"It is true that what Dearg did was wrong. However, during the time he's been here, he's shown to have regretted what he's done. Please, son, you need to give him a chance. Come by the house tomorrow; the Doubles' Rounds don't start until next week."_

Robin sighed before giving a weak 'Sure'.

" _Robin,"_ Anrydd addressed. _"I'm not asking you to be his best friend. I'm telling you to let your brother prove he's changed for the better."_

"I said I'd come," the archer repeated. "I'll see you tomorrow." He hung up his scroll and sat at one of the desks to examine his weapon. He was interrupted by a knock at the door, so he walked over and opened the door to reveal Coco Adel with an iron clad expression on her face.

"Hey," he weakly greeted.

"We just had our match today," the fashionista informed bluntly. Robin's eyes widened at this news.

"You already had it?!" he gasped. "You won, right?"

"Yes, we won," Coco said in a flat tone. "But you not watching our match is not the hot issue right now. This has gotten out of hand."

"If this is about Dearg-"

"It is and this time, you will listen," Coco stated, entering the room and closing the door behind her.

"Ever since this whole Dearg thing happened, you've been a dick 90% of the time now. I understand that what your brother did was wrong and he deserves to be scolded for it, but you're acting just like him." Robin's eyes widened.

"What?" he challenged. "How am I-?"

"You're using your own anger and pain to feel sorry for yourself," Coco reprimanded. "You have a right to be angry, but you're being ridiculous now."

"How can you possibly understand?" Robin questioned. "Do you have any idea what it's like to feel betrayed by someone?"

"My parents!" Coco shouted, silencing Robin. "I told Fox's story, but perhaps I should tell mine."

"What about your parents?" Robin questioned.

"When I was nine years old, my dad found another woman and decided to leave us," Coco explained. "My mom was so devastated by it that she started drinking. After that…" She pulled up her sleeve to show a scar on her arm, possibly by a knife or piece of glass.

"My mother's drinking got so bad that she used me as an outlet for her anger," Coco continued, a tear falling down her face. "When a Huntsman noticed my scars, she was reported to the police and I was sent to live with my Aunt."

"Coco, I-"

"For two years, I held onto this anger, so one day I decided to go see her before I came to Beacon. She tearfully apologized for what she had done, but I wouldn't hear it, so I disowned her. After having a talk with my Aunt and Uncle, I realized that I had to at least forgive her. I went to see her and…we made peace with each other." Coco took off her shades and put them on one of the desks.

"Coco…I'm so sorry," Robin apologized.

"My mother showed that she was genuinely sorry for what she had done, so I had to forgive her or this anger would turn into something very ugly," Coco explained. "Dearg is troubled, just like my mother was. Give him a chance to prove he's sorry for what he's done."

Robin's hardened heart softened immensely after hearing Coco's past. He had noticed the small scars on her body before, but thought they were just from her years of training. She had never brought up or hinted that she had been abused before, most likely because she never wanted to.

"Okay," Robin finally relented. "My Dad called earlier. I'm going over to the house tomorrow to see him."

"Good," Coco replied. "I hope he is changed."

"So have I," Robin agreed. "Coco, I'm so sorry for the way I've been. I was such a jerk and I-"

"If you want to make it up to me, give your brother a chance," the fashionista interrupted before kissing his cheek and walking to the door, but stopped.

"I want my old boyfriend back," she said before leaving the dorm.

Robin sat at the desk, contemplating what had happened and what was going to happen. What Coco said ran in his mind. Had he really been that much of a selfish jerk? Had he really been using his pain to justify being mean? Had he really been doing the same thing Dearg had done?

"I'm sorry, Coco…for everything," he silently apologized. "I just Dearg really has changed."


	10. Reconciliation

**RWBY: MRRN**

 **VOLUME 3, CHAPTER 10: Reconciliation**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

 _"Have you found anything?"_ Sterling asked Forest through his telepathic link.

" _Nothing,"_ Forest replied as he flew around in his Golden Eagle form. _"Have you asked Ruadh?"_

" _He's found nothing connected to the Iron Knights or to this woman either,"_ Sterling replied. _"They cannot stay hidden forever."_ His link was cut off when he felt a force push him to the ground.

"Look at that," a grown older man with a broad build along with five others mocked angrily. "A Faunus on the ground where it should be." Sterling was about to get up, but the same man kicked him in the face.

"Stay down," he demanded. The Snow Fox Faunus got up again; seeing the man try to attack him again, he caught his hand in his own and threw him into the wall.

"That's enough," he stated. "I'm not looking for trouble."

"Well, that's all you Faunus are," the man spoke as he stepped away. "And YOU are going to pay for that."

"I don't have time for this," Sterling dismissed. The older man grabbed the Faunus by the arm; before he knew what was coming, Sterling grabbed him by the back of his neck and flipped him, making him land on his back.

"Do not touch me," the Faunus warned.

"Get him!" the man demanded. "And make him hurt!" The other men rushed at the Faunus, intending on carrying out the man's request.

The first one to throw a punch missed and was quickly taken out by Sterling grabbing his arm and throwing him into one of his friends. The second attacker drew a knife and slashed at the Faunus three times; after a fourth slash, Sterling kicked him in the side of his head and again in his stomach, knocking him to the ground.

One of them rushed from behind and wrapped his arms around Sterling's shoulders so the other one could punch him in his stomach. The Snow Fox leapt up, wrapped his legs around the man in front of him and flipped him onto the other attacker, freeing him from his grasp.

"What is going on here?!" a Vale Police Officer demanded as he exited his car.

"This Faunus attacked us," one of them claimed.

"You attacked me, so I fought in self-defense," Sterling corrected. "That's the truth."

"Get out of here," the Officer told Sterling. "The next time I see you start a fight, you're going to jail." Sterling shook his head in disbelief as he walked away and reestablished a telepathic link.

" _Is everything okay?"_ Forest asked. _"We didn't have a telepathic link for a while."_

" _I ran into some unsavory characters,"_ Sterling informed. _"They picked a fight with me. An officer came by and believed their story that I was the one who started it."_

" _Faunus discrimination,"_ Forest growled. _"It's sickening to see how desensitized people can become as a whole. Wait…tell Ruadh to meet us at 1200 Yellow Brick Rd. I think I found something."_

" _On it,"_ Sterling replied.

The Snow Fox Faunus rushed through the streets of Vale, using his scroll to find his way to the address Forest had given him. Upon arrival, he saw that it was an old two story house that appeared abandoned and out of shape.

"Follow the yellow brick road to happiness," Ruadh sarcastically stated, remembering the slogan of the neighborhood. "No one's been here for years. This neighborhood was shut down over a decade ago."

"I found tracks," Forest explained, examining the long grass. "There's remnants of drag marks, heavy footsteps…it's as if they were running and in a hurry. But like you said, Ruadh, this old place has been abandoned for over a decade. So shouldn't there be no human tracks of any sort?"

"You never know," the axe user replied. Forest led them in through the front as he looked around for fingerprints and tracks.

"Who would want to be in here?" Ruadh questioned. "A couple of teenagers letting their hormones get the better of them? The ceiling looks like it's about to break."

"Just look around," Forest instructed. "See if you can find anything that looks out of place or used recently…like this." He found a book with very little dust on it, meaning it must've been left behind. He opened it to read:

" _We're finally getting the justice we deserve! Nachtfel will lead us to victory, thought I wonder if this woman is just using us for her own goals? It is probable, considering how shady she acts."_

"This definitely belonged to an Iron Knight," Forest pointed out. "It sounds like he met this woman personally." He turned the page.

" _Why would we choose to stay here at this house? Sure, it's abandoned, but it's leaking, it's old, it's barely holding on…but I guess it doesn't matter. We needed somewhere to hide out so we can continue to gather information. That Junior guy barely helped."_

"Junior?" Ruadh asked. "Who's that?"

"Maybe Junior Xiong," Sterling suggested. "He owns a club on the more shady part of Vale."

"Then we'll see about paying him a visit if we can find out what identities they used," Forest replied as he turned the next page, but found it blank.

"There's nothing else," Forest spoke as he put the journal away. "All we have is a lead on Junior Xiong right now. Let's look around some more in case we missed something."

"Look," Ruadh called out as he held up a bunch of Lien. "There's several Lien here…all hundreds."

"It could've been used to bribe Junior Xiong," Sterling assumed. "He's a well-known information broker."

"I'll check the upstairs," Forest spoke as he walked up the stairs. One of them snapped on him, almost making him fall if he hadn't grabbed a hole in the wall.

"Are you alright?" Ruadh asked.

"I'm fine," Forest assured as he regained his balance. "I better go in Eagle Form." He transformed into an eagle and flew up the staircase, looking around as he did.

"I think I'd know why Nachtfel would have them come here instead of back to their hideout," Forest thought to himself. "If they were discovered, they wouldn't risk leading anyone back to their hideout."

He looked around the place, examining for anything that appeared to have belonged to the Iron Knights that had stayed here. Unfortunately, nothing was found. He flew downstairs and changed back to his human form.

"There's nothing else," Forest informed. "This Junior Xiong is our only lead. You know where his club is?"

"Yes," Sterling assured. "We'll probably get there by nightfall. So let's move."

-0-

Robin had arrived home to meet up with his family. He sat in his car for several minutes, mentally preparing himself to see Dearg and not lash out at him for all the hurt he had put him through.

In honesty, he was still conflicted about seeing his older brother again after everything that had happened. He wasn't sure if he was truly ready to see him again.

"I have to do this," Robin reminded himself. He opened the door, stepped out of his car and closed it behind him. He walked up the front porch to the door and was about to knock, but hesitated. Suddenly, the door opened to see an older man with fading red hair and green eyes.

"Hey, Dad," Robin greeted.

"Hey, son," Anrydd replied as he gestured for his son to enter their two-story home. Immediately entering the living room, Robin saw his mom, Gwyn, and…his older brother, Dearg. His hair had been cut short and his face was now clean-shaven, a complete contrast to the man from before.

"Hey," Dearg greeted, but receiving no response from Robin other than a nod of his head.

"Come sit down," Anrydd told Robin, who sat next to his mom on the couch.

"Dearg, it's time," Gwyn told her oldest son. "It's time to stop running from your past. Robin, it's time to forgive him."

"I know I screwed up," Dearg confessed solemnly, not making eye contact with anyone. "I'm sorry for all I did."

"Dearg, you need to look Robin in the eye and apologize," Anrydd told his son. "I don't approve of how Robin had been acting lately, but you need to understand where he's coming from. Back in those days, Robin was the one who suffered the most from your irresponsibility. Today, you're going to answer my question in front of him. No smart remarks, no half-truths, only the truth." Everyone focused on Dearg.

"Why did you try to sabotage Robin when he was at West Academy?"

Dearg was silent for a few moments; whether it was trying to find a justifiable answer or build up the courage to admit his selfish choice was unclear. Finally, a tear ran down his cheek from his right eye.

"I did it because I was selfish," he confessed. "Every day Robin went to the Academy, I was reminded of what happened to my team. I still remember what happened-"

"We're not asking you about what happened to your team," Anrydd interrupted bluntly. "You've told us what happened. We're asking you why you tried to sabotage your brother." Dearg took another breath.

"I did it because I didn't want him to get killed like my team," he admitted. "I…I didn't want him to die." Robin was about to lash out, but he mentally stopped himself from doing so.

"That does not justify the way you treated and continued to harass him after you were arrested," Anrydd called out. "Make no mistake; I did not bring you home so history could repeat itself. You are my son and I love you, but that does not mean I'll tolerate any more nonsense from you."

"I understand, Dad," Dearg assured.

"You do?" Anrydd questioned. "Alright then. But I will make something very clear: if I catch you abusing Robin again or go down the same path you did years ago, you will not be a part of this family again. Understand?"

"Yes," Dearg replied weakly.

"Dearg," Gwyn addressed. "You need to face your past and you need to own up to what you've done. You cannot turn to alcohol to cope anymore, which is why we want you to see a therapist."

"A therapist?" Dearg asked.

"You are troubled, son," Anrydd spoke. "Obviously what happened on that mission is haunting you to this day. You will never be able to truly move on if you don't find peace with yourself."

Peace. That was a feeling Dearg had not known for years. The thoughts of his last mission weighed so much on him that it seemed out of his reach, made him become a bitter and unhappy drunk. He believed he'd never be able to get over what happened to them; the guilt of being the only survivor destroyed him.

"I…I don't know if I can," Dearg reluctantly admitted.

"You need to," Gwyn stated. "You cannot keep this to yourself forever. It's done far more harm than good."

"It's time, Dearg," Anrydd spoke. "It's time to stop running."

Dearg was hesitant to do this, but he knew they were right. He had to stop running from his past. He had to own up to what he had done in the past and do what he could heal the bonds he had broken with his family…especially his younger brother.

"Robin," Anrydd addressed, immediately grabbing his son's attention. "I understand your anger towards Dearg and you have every right to be angry. However, I need you to understand that he needs help…and, providing he's cooperative, we need to be there for him as well."

Dearg got up from his seat and walked over to Robin. The archer expected to see the same angry expression he had seen on his brother for years, but instead saw one of regret and wishing to make things right. It didn't take his Semblance to see that his brother was truly sorry. He held out his hand to his brother.

"I'm sorry, Robin," he apologized. "I was in so much pain and I took it out on everyone here. I'm not going to ask you to forgive me; I know how badly I screwed up. All I'm asking is you give me a chance to prove myself."

Robin just looked at his brother, who looked right back at him. All the archer could think of was his conflicted feelings towards Dearg. To see him finally as a person repentant of his past choices was good for Robin to see; however, he couldn't just forget all the harm he had done in the past, especially when Coco was around.

"Robin," Anrydd insisted. The archer sighed, stood up and shook his brother's hand.

"This doesn't mean I forgive you," Robin stated. "It just means I'm open to the fact that you want to change. If you go down that path again, I'm not giving you another chance." He then pulled his hand away.

"Fair enough," Dearg agreed. At this point, Anrydd and Gwyn stood up.

"Change is not an easy thing," Anrydd spoke. "Some people want to stay stuck in their ways, even if it causes more harm than good. It's good to see that you're willing to own up to what you've done, but just remember; we can help you, but you have to be the one to make the change. We can't do it for you." Dearg nodded his acknowledgement to his father.

"Good," Anrydd smiled. "In the meantime, we can continue your training as a Huntsman and get you a job."

"Sounds good," Dearg agreed. Anrydd walked over to a closet, pushed a few things aside and took out a three-sectioned bow, with two of the sections having downward blades drawing towards the handle. He brought the bow to Dearg and held it out to him.

"If we're going to continue your training, you'll need this," Anrydd spoke. Dearg slowly reached out to it, but he stopped for a moment. It had been years since he held his weapon, having left it to collect dust ever since he dropped out of Beacon.

No. It was time to move on. He took the bow and examined it, seeing that it desperately needed maintenance.

"I'll get to work on it," he informed.

"I still have my workbench in the garage," Anrydd informed. "Feel free to use that." Dearg nodded his head and walked to the garage to begin work on his weapon.

"Thanks for coming," Anrydd told Robin. "I know it must've been hard for you to come."

"I was honestly conflicted between hugging him and punching him in the face," the archer admitted.

"Robin, I understand you'll need time before you can forgive Dearg," his father assured. "If Dearg is willing to change, we should be open to it."

"I know," the archer replied.

"Forgiveness and change take time," his father spoke once more. "I have faith in him."

"Well, I'll see you guys later," Robin departed as he walked over to Gwyn and hugged her, then doing the same to his father.

"Make sure to say goodbye to Dearg," he insisted. Robin was hesitant, but walked to the garage and entered, immediately seeing his brother working on his weapon.

"Hey," he greeted, causing Dearg to turn around.

"Hey," he replied. "Are you heading out?"

"Yeah," Robin answered. "I'll need to be at the top of my game for the Doubles' Rounds next week. Take care."

"You too," Dearg reciprocated before returning to work on his weapon. Without another word, Robin exited the garage, then the house and walked to his car. He opened the door, sat at the wheel and closed it behind him.

He just sat there for a few moments, contemplating what had happened. His father had faith in Dearg's honest return to being a better man, but he was still conflicted about it.

Could his brother really put his past behind him? Could he really find the courage to own up to his mistakes? Or this just a repeat of history?

He'd take the time to think about these answers. For now, he needed to train for the Doubles' Rounds. He started up the car and drove back to Beacon.

-0-

Ruo was sitting at his desk, working on Huzhao. Other than a few dulled claws, the weapon was still in great condition. The Dust compartments were still flowing smoothly, but they were slower than before, so he got the tools needed and fixed it. As he was working, there was a knock at the door; he abandoned his work and walked over, opening it to see Yang.

"Hey, Yang," he greeted.

"Hey, babe," she replied. "How're you doing?"

"Doing better than before," he replied. "I told my teammates and they told their uncle in the VSU. Hopefully, the MSU will allow them to look in the case and get Grant arrested."

"That's his name, right?" the blonde brawler asked. "The guy who killed your dad?"

"Grant Denim," Ruo specified. "It's putting my mind at ease to know that something can be done about him. My parents deserve justice."

"Yeah," Yang agreed.

"Who's he?" an older voice asked, belonging a man with messy black hair, stubble on his jawline, a cape and a retracted sword. Ruo took a few sniffs and covered his nose.

"What the hell?" he asked. "We have things called showers. They're just a few dorms down. Gods, you stink!"

"Hey, watch it," the man shot back. "I've been out there fighting for weeks. Sorry if I don't smell pleasant." Just then, it clicked in Ruo's mind, about something he had been told by Math.

"Wait a minute," he spoke. "I heard about you. You're the drunk who stared that fight in the courtyard yesterday!"

"That's not true," the man denied. "Winter attacked first."

"But you wanted her to attack you," Ruo pointed out. "What is wrong with you?"

"Whoa, whoa," Yang said, standing between them. "Ruo, this is my uncle Qrow. Uncle Qrow, this is my boyfriend, Ruo-Jian, but everyone calls him Ruo."

"Wait…Uncle?" Ruo questioned, looking at the disorderly man in front of him. "You're Yang's uncle?"

"Is it that hard to believe?" Qrow asked.

"Take a shower first," Ruo replied, waving his hand. "Geez, sometimes it sucks having an enhanced sense of smell."

"Well, this is a nice first meeting," Qrow replied sarcastically.

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby cheered as she rushed to hug him. Qrow smiled and patted Ruby's head.

"Ruo, have you met our Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked the Faunus.

"I have," the Faunus answered.

"He says I stink," Qrow joked. "Do I?"

"Actually, you do," Ruby bluntly answered, making Qrow sigh.

"Alright, I'll take a shower later today," he promised. "For now, who's up for some video games?"

"I am!" Ruby replied. "I'll kick your butt at Kung Fu Ninja Ultimate Death Battle 2!"

"The first one's better," Yang claimed. "If you disagree, I'll fight you…to the 'death'!" All of them groaned at Yang's terrible-as-usual pun.

"Well, I'll catch up in a little bit," the blonde brawler responded. "I'm going to talk to Ruo real quick."

"Sounds good," Ruby responded. "Wait…gross!"

"You'll understand when you're older," Ruo insisted as Yang walked inside the dorm and closed it behind her.

"He's your Uncle?" the Faunus asked his girlfriend. "He's such a drunk loudmouth."

"He prefers 'Reckless Rogue'," Yang responded. "He's our cool uncle."

"Well, I can certainly understand the reckless part," Ruo responded. "I guess there are worse role models out there."

"Hey," Yang called out. "There's no need to talk about him that way. He helped train Ruby before she came here…and he saved us when I first went looking for my mom."

"I'm just acting on what I was told," Ruo explained. "Math said your uncle started a fight with someone in the Beacon Courtyard for no reason."

"Weiss's sister, Winter," Yang informed.

"That aside, is there something you wanted to talk about?" Ruo asked his girlfriend.

"Yeah," Yang responded. "I wanted to ask you…you said you hoped the MSU would let the VSU look into the case surrounding your father's death."

"I did," Ruo confirmed.

"What'll happen if…it doesn't work?" she asked.

Ruo was afraid of anyone asking that question. What would he do if the VSU wouldn't be able to look into the case surrounding his father's death? What if the VSU couldn't get the justice he needed for his parents?

"I…I don't know," he reluctantly answered. "I'm hoping that the VSU can do it. Both of my parents are dead because of him."

"Both?" Yang asked. "So…your Mom…?" Ruo sighed.

"Yang…" he started. "I didn't tell you everything about what happened with my mom."

"Obviously," Yang pointed out. "All you ever said was that you left her and nothing else. I knew something was going on, but…I didn't want to push it."

"I want to tell you because…I love you," Ruo admitted, a slight blush growing on Yang's face.

"Two years after I left my Mom and trained with Jinse, I heard about a violent White Tiger Faunus killing people," Ruo started. "I went to see if it was my Mom. As I feared, it was."

"Your mom really lost it, huh?" Yang asked.

Ruo was hesitant to continue this story of Yang's reaction. She had only known about how savage and brutal his mother had become after joining the White Fang. All this time, he had never brought up what had actually happened to her. He trusted her, so he felt he had to tell her.

"When I saw my mom, she was holding a Faunus family at gunpoint," he continued. "I…I tried to get her to stop, but she refused to listen. When she pulled the trigger, I…"

He couldn't finish the sentence, the same sentence he had told his teammate and partner. A tear rolled down his cheek, remembering the horrible memory of his mother's demise.

"Ruo?" Yang asked, reaching out to him. Just as she was bout to put her hand on him-

"I killed her," he confessed.

Yang's eyes widened in response to Ruo's confession. She had her suspicions, but she never would've suspected matricide. This revelation hit her like a brick, with no idea how to respond.

"Ruo…" she got out, but couldn't continue.

"I had to kill my own mother because of Grant," the Faunus spoke through several tears. "She never would've become a monster if he hadn't killed my Dad and framed my mother."

He looked at Yang, but couldn't tell how she was feeling right now. Her expression said shock, surprise, sympathy, and so many other emotions, so many that Ruo couldn't tell how she was taking this. He received his answer when she reached out her arms and brought Ruo in for a hug.

"I'm so sorry," she spoke. "I…I had no idea how much you had gone through." Ruo returned the embrace before crying into Yang's shoulder, showing how much this memory had affected him.

Yang felt a tear of her own fall down her cheek. She had never suspected that Ruo had been forced to kill his own mother, the woman who had brought him into this world. She now fully understood why it was important to see Grant Denim punished for what he had done.

"Hey, Yang!" Ruby called from outside the dorm. "Are you coming? I'm kicking Qrow's butt!"

"Which is why you've only lost seven times already?" Qrow teased.

"That's not true!" Ruby lied. Yang looked over at Ruo, removing his face from her shoulder.

"I'll be fine," he assured. "Go have fun with your family."

"Ruo…thanks for trusting me with this," Yang replied. "I cannot imagine how hard it was to say this."

"It wasn't," Ruo responded. "It's not because I didn't trust you, it was because-" Yang put a finger on his lips, stopping him from talking.

"If you ever need to get something off your chest, my door's always open," she assured and kissed him before leaving the dorm.

Ruo sat down on his bunk, contemplating the endless ways this scenario could play out. Maybe he could get justice for his parents. Maybe the VSU would be told to lay off the case. There was no telling of what could happen.

-0-

"So everything is going according to your new plan?" Nachtfel asked Cinder over his scroll.

" _Yes,"_ she assured. _"By the time the Vytal Tournament is done, Beacon will be nothing but ruins, courtesy of you and the White Fang."_

"How do you still have the White Fang's support?" Nachtfel questioned. "Many Faunus died in the tunnel when Roman started the train."

" _Adam Taurus makes sure they'll still listen to us,"_ Cinder answered. _"He's our influence in the White Fang."_

"He's also volatile and unpredictable," Nachtfel added. "If you think he's not brewing plans of his own, then you better think twice."

" _Then I'll remind him who's in charge,"_ Cinder replied. _"I'll do the same to you if I have to. Now I must go. I still to work out some of the finer details."_ She hung up.

"If you think you scare me, Cinder, you are dreadfully mistaken," the demon warrior spoke. "There is nothing you can do to frighten me into submission. When your life becomes a nightmare, you stop being scared."


	11. Doubles' Rounds

**RWBY: MRRN**

 **Volume 3, Chapter 11: Doubles' Rounds**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

 **"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Doubles' Rounds!"** Port announced. **"How are you feeling today, Professor Oobleck?"**

" **DOCTOR,"** Oobleck corrected. **"I'm feeling very excited for the Doubles' Rounds today. I'd say the difficulty has gone up since only two members of each winning team were allowed to continue."**

" **I definitely agree,"** Port spoke. **"Now, it is time to choose the first Doubles' Round."** The randomization started immediately, the images of all the participants rotating at a very fast pace.

"You hope you get to fight today?" Math asked Pyrrha, gently holding her hand.

"I'm fine with it either way," Pyrrha answered. "What about you?"

"Maybe," the swordsman answered. Just then, the randomization stopped, landing on Coco Adel and Yatsuhashi Daichi of Beacon and Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black of Haven.

"Coco's going?" Robin asked.

" **Coco and Yatsuhashi of Beacon vs. Emerald and Mercury of Haven!"** Port announced. **"Will you please retrieve your weapons and report to the Arena?"** Robin got up from his seat and started to walk away from his teammates.

"Rob, it's not our turn," Math stated as he was unsure of what his cousin was doing.

"I need to talk to Coco," he replied before leaving the bleachers.

In the locker room, Coco and Yatsu were getting their weapons ready in the locker room. Yatsu was at the top of his game, but he could sense that his leader was somewhat distracted.

"Coco," he addressed, getting her attention. "Are you still worried about Robin?"

"I just hope he's willing to give his brother a chance," she replied. She felt the huge guy of her team put a hand on her shoulder.

"I understand you're concerned about him, but you must be focused now," he stated.

"Coco?" Robin called as he walked into the locker room. The fashionista took off her glasses and looked him in the eye, seeing him in a much more calm state.

"Well?" she asked as she got up and walked over to him.

"I spoke to him," Robin informed. "It'll…be a while before I can forgive him, but…I'm willing to give him a chance." Coco smiled as she wrapped her arms around him and he did the same to her.

"I'm sorry, Coco," he apologized. "I was letting my anger get the better of me and I just plain screwed up."

"I'm glad to see you've realized that," Coco replied, looking lovingly into his eyes. "I said those things because I didn't want you making the same mistakes Dearg made. That's not the man I fell in love with."

Robin blushed a little, opposite to his usual cocky and somewhat vain self. Coco giggled at this and brought his lips to hers…all the while Yatsu turned his head away. He was contemplating between letting Coco and Robin have their moment and reminding his leader that they had a match to go to.

"I love you, Coco," Robin professed.

"I love you too, Robin," she reciprocated before pecking his cheek.

"I'll make it up to you," he promised. "After you win that match, I'll take you wherever you like." Coco smirked as she could think of several places she'd want to go after her match.

"Coco, we have to go," Yatsu finally reminded her. She nodded her head in agreement, broke away from Robin and grabbed her weapon. Robin smiled at her and she did the same before walking back to his seat. On arriving, he immediately caught the attention of his friends.

"Hey, Robin," Yang greeted. "Where'd you head off to?"

"To patch things up with Coco," he answered before sitting down and turning his attention to the Arena. He could see perfectly his girlfriend and Yatsu facing Emerald and Mercury.

"Well, I think Coco and Yatsu have this all wrapped up," Robin spoke with a cocky smirk.

"I…really don't think so," Ruo admitted, much to the surprise of his teammates.

"What?" Robin gasped. "You can't be serious. You've seen Coco and Yatsu fight."

"I have," Ruo acknowledged. "They're at a disadvantage against Emerald and Mercury. They're both heavy hitters with nothing to balance them out."

After Ruo pointed that out, it made sense. They were both very strong, but what they had in power, they lacked in mobility. When Coco used her weapon, it was near impossible for her to move around freely. Yatsu had a lot of power as well, but he was not as nimble as Velvet or Fox, so Ruo was right; they were at a disadvantage.

The stages chosen were the forest, the geyser fields, the urban ruins, and the savanna. The four students appeared to trade some words before Port started the countdown.

" **3…2…1…BEGIN!"**

Mercury and Emerald slowly backed away from Coco and Yatsu, taking cover in the high grass of the savanna, confusing everyone. The leader of Team CFVY activated her weapon and unleashed a barrage of bullets, cutting down the grass in moments. To their shock, Mercury and Emerald were nowhere to be found.

"Huh?" Math gasped. "Where did they go? We never saw them leave the savanna." Just then, Mercury appeared from above and unleashed a flurry of attacks on Coco and Yatsu, taking them completely by surprise.

As Ruo had suspected, their heavy hitter statuses were being exploited by Mercury; he was far too nimble and quick for either of them to land a hit on him. He unleashed a whirlwind of shots from his greaves on the two of them, leaving them dazed and unprepared for Mercury's flawless kick-based fighting.

"See what I mean?" Ruo pointed out to Robin.

Just then, Emerald threw a chain from the forest stage, wrapping it around Coco and separating the two members of CFVY. Yatsu managed to grab Mercury and throw him into the geyser field, where he then leapt and attacked the martial artist again. Despite putting up a good fight, Mercury was simply far too nimble for Yatsu and defeated him.

"Whoa," Robin gasped. In a few more moments, Coco was kicked out of the forest stage and landed beside Yatsu.

" **With an amazing display of strength and skill, Mercury and Emerald are victorious!"** Oobleck announced. The medics arrived onto the Arena to take Coco and Yatsu to the infirmary.

This time, Grant Denim was nowhere to be seen, much to Ruo's confusion. He hadn't been informed of an arrest, so there was no reason for Denim to not have arrived.

"I'm going to go check on Coco," Robin informed his teammates as he left the bleachers.

" **Next match will start in fifteen minutes,"** Port informed. **"Do what you need to do and make sure not to miss the next match."**

Team MRRN went with Velvet and Fox to the infirmary to check on the two beaten teammates. Upon arriving, Coco was awake, but Yatsu was still out cold.

"Hey," Robin greeted his girlfriend. "What happened in the forest?"

"I saw Yatsu," Coco claimed. "He was coming right up to me."

"That's not possible," Velvet replied. "Yatsu never left the geyser field. Are you sure you saw him?"

"I swear I saw him," the fashionista claimed once more. While Robin and Velvet checked on Coco and Yatsu, Ruo looked around to find Grant Denim, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Excuse me," he asked one of the medics.

"Yes?" she replied.

"Where's Grant Denim?" Ruo asked. "I was hoping to speak with him."

"It'll be a while," she responded. "He's come down with pneumonia." Ruo's eyes widened.

"What?" he gasped.

"He doesn't know how he got it, but one of our other medics confirmed he is indeed ill," the medic informed further. "He may be out for the rest of the Tournament."

Ruo didn't know how to process this turn of events. The man who had killed his father and let his mother take the fall for the crime had suddenly become ill. Perhaps it was an act of the Gods or just something that had happened. Whatever it was, Ruo didn't care; all he knew was that he needed to see him punished.

-0-

" **Our next match is about to begin!"** Oobleck announced. **"Now let us see who is up next!"** The images started to rotate at a very rapid speed like before. Everyone watched in anticipation as the images started to slow down until landing on one team from Beacon and another from Haven.

" **Pyrrha and Nora of Beacon vs. Sun and Neptune of Haven!"** Port announced. **"Please retrieve your weapons and head for the Arena."**

Teams MRRN and RWBY walked with JNPR to the locker room to wish the two female fighters luck against Sun and Neptune. Math walked up to Pyrrha and held her as he brought her lips to his in a passionate kiss, to which she sunk into.

"Kick their asses for me!" Nasser pleaded, wanting so badly to see Sun and Neptune lose.

"We're not doing it for you," Pyrrha dismissed Nasser as she picked up her weapons and followed Nora to the Arena. She knew perfectly well of how much he disliked Sun, but she was not going to fight just for his entertainment.

"Good luck, beautiful," Math called. Pyrrha looked back at him and smiled before going into the Arena, where Sun and Neptune came out the other side.

"Ladies," Neptune flirted, much to Pyrrha's obvious annoyance.

"You do know I'm dating Mathdon, correct?" she asked him, immediately earning a nervous reaction from the intellectual of Team SSSN.

"Sorry, my bad," he apologized. "I never really noticed." Pyrrha's expression had 'not buying that crap' all over her face.

There was no way Neptune could not have noticed how close she and Math were. They spent so much time together, almost everyone who knew them picked up that they were dating. How Neptune couldn't have noticed was beyond her.

"Ignore him," Sun told Pyrrha. "He's dumb."

"Hey," Neptune groaned at his team leader. The biomes chosen for the match were the ice field, the swamp, the desert, and the cyber.

"Hey, don't chicken out on us like you did before," Nora told Neptune.

"What?" he replied in an offended tone. "First off, I didn't chicken out; I merely took advantage of the enemy's territory. Second…I am not afraid of water."

"Really?" Nora smirked, making Sun and Neptune feel very uneasy.

" **3…"** Port started the countdown.

"Go, Pyrrha!" Math cheered from his seat, along with their friends.

"Kick their asses!" Nasser called out.

" **2…1…BEGIN!"**

Neptune quickly pulled out his firearm and fire several shots at Pyrrha while Sun leapt forward, pulling out his staff and swinging at the two young women. Both of them dodged Sun's attack, leaving him vulnerable to getting hit by Magnhild and sent flying into the desert biome.

"I'll take care of Sun," Pyrrha told Nora. "You take care of Neptune." The hammer girl nodded her head in agreement and rushed at Neptune, slamming her hammer onto the ground. It sent a shockwave aimed at Neptune, but he dodged it and quickly fired several shots from his weapon at her.

Each of them hit her, but when she got up, her body crackled with electricity and a demonic smirk stretched across her face. Neptune remembered from watching Team JNPR's match against BRNZ; Nora's Semblance dealt with electricity…and his weapon was an electric based one.

She leapt into the air, screaming cheerfully as she slammed her hammer into the ground, sending another shockwave at Neptune, who was sent flying into the ice biome.

Pyrrha traded blows with Sun Wukong, who was twirling his staff around trying to hit her; sadly, all of her attacks were either deflected or dodged by the Amazon warrior. As he tried to throw his staff at her, aiming for her face, she knocked the weapon aside and threw her hoplon at Sun, which bounced off him and back to Pyrrha. She threw her hoplon almost immediately after retrieving it, not giving Sun a chance to retrieve his weapon.

"Neptune!" Sun called. "We may need to switch fights here!"

"Fine by me!" Neptune agreed as he dodged another attack from Nora. He transformed his weapon into a guandao and started to trade blows with Nora, trying to land a hit on her. He couldn't rely on channeling electricity as he knew it would power Nora up and would definitely cost them the match.

Sun managed to retrieve his weapon and transformed them into their nunchaku form. He unleashed a barrage of shotgun shells on Pyrrha, who blocked or deflected the attacks with her weapons until she twirled her legs and tripped Sun, knocking him back onto the ground.

"Take that, Wukong!" Nasser taunted and cheered. "It's about time someone wiped that arrogant smirk off your face!"

"Cool it, Nas," Robin insisted.

"What happened to switching opponents?" Neptune asked his best friend. "I'm literally giving this girl ammo for her Semblance." He narrowly dodged an hammer swing from Nora, but left him open to an upward swing that again sent him flying near the swamp biome.

" **Sun and Neptune don't appear to be doing so well against Pyrrha and Nora,"** Oobleck announced.

" **Indeed,"** Port agreed.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Sun spoke before turning his weapon back into a staff and twirling it at Pyrrha, trying to keep her at a distance. She put away her hoplon and transformed Miló into a javelin to counter Sun's staff. She knocked his weapon upward and attacked with two wide swings that dealt a lot of damage to Sun's Aura.

Sun started to jump away from her, knowing that if he stayed and fought her in an open fight, he would be toast. Pyrrha activated her weapon's rifle form and took several shots at Sun, who deflected the bullets with a spin of his staff before disappearing into the swamp biome.

Nora again leapt up and brought her hammer down on Neptune, which he dodged once more before landing two hits on her with his guandao. Unfortunately, the electricity did nothing but empower Nora, allowing her to knock him near the water, to which he desperately tried to get away from, speeding all the way to the cyber biome.

"Hey!" Nora called out. "Get back here, you chicken! You ARE afraid of water!"

"I am not afraid!" Neptune shouted. "I am simply taking advantage…of my teammate's home turf."

Pyrrha made her way to the swamp biome, where the only stable ground was large intertwining roots from the trees that seemed to blot out the light. Beneath the roots was nothing but murky water, which would be perfect for Sun to hide in.

Suddenly, she saw a faint reflection in the water; Sun was attacking from above. He slammed his staff into the root, missing Pyrrha as she dodged the attack by flipping back. She immediately swung her weapon upwards in its javelin form, leaving Sun open to a shield throw that knocked him into the water.

" **Uh oh,"** Port announced. **"It looks like Sun and Neptune are at a major disadvantage against Pyrrha and Nora."**

" **I definitely agree on one thing,"** Oobleck announced. **"Neptune's weapon is nothing but a power amplifier for Ms. Valkyrie. Those two will need to figure out a new tactic or this round is as good as won."**

"Can we switch opponents now?" Neptune asked Sun yet again as Nora fought him on the cyber stage. "Seriously!"

"Busy!" Sun shouted back as he recovered and leapt onto the roots, unleashing an assault of twirls and spins on Pyrrha, which she dodged and then leapt over him. Before he could catch on, she launched him into the air before leaping and unleashing a frenzy of slashes on him. With one final attack, she grabbed Sun and sent him plummeting into the ground, depleting the last of his Aura.

" **Oho, with that, Sun Wukong has been eliminated!"** Port announced, immediately catching Neptune's attention. His eyes widened in terror as he was now up against a world renowned fighter and a woman whom his weapon against would only empower him all by himself.

"Come on, Neptune, think, think!" he thought to himself. He looked around, trying to find somewhere he had an advantage, but unfortunately, he wasn't coming up with any solutions. Unfortunately, he was so caught up in trying to find a solution that he didn't notice Nora leap up. She looked at him with a devilish smirk before bringing the hammer down, knocking Neptune off the biome and into the desert, depleting the last of his Aura.

" **Superb!"** Port announced. **"Pyrrha and Nora are victorious!"**

Jaune, Ren, RWBY and MRRN cheered for their two friends, especially Nasser as he finally got to see Sun 'get that smirk wiped off his face'; he may've not been the one to do it, but at least a friend of his did it instead. Medics came onto the Arena to take Sun and Neptune to the infirmary, despite their minor injuries.

The ten of them rushed over to the locker room where they congratulated Pyrrha and Nora. Math picked up his girlfriend and spun her around, cheering and laughing as they did.

"You two were awesome out there!" Jaune told them.

"Thank you, Jaune," Pyrrha replied as Math put her down.

"About time someone wiped those smirks off their faces," Nasser cackled. "I'm just sorry it wasn't me."

"Will you stop already?" Pyrrha told the knife user. "I get you're annoyed with Sun and Neptune. Honestly, so am I, but wishing harm on them is not okay."

"I'm just tired of Sun-"

"Stealing your belongings," Pyrrha interrupted. "We didn't fight them just so you could enjoy yourself. I hope you know that."

"Whatever," Nasser dismissed, much to Pyrrha's ire.

"All this time and you still act like some rude jerk," she insulted. "Are you really incapable of learning anything?"

"Hey, hey," Math spoke, coming between the two of them. "There's no need for this." Pyrrha and Nasser glared at each other before the knife user walked away, heading back to the bleachers.

"I really wish Nasser would stop acting like this," Pyrrha told her boyfriend. "Being annoyed with someone is one thing, but wanting to see them harmed is something else. He's always being derogatory to Sun, even when he's just trying to be friendly."

"Yeah, I think it's gotten out of hand," Math agreed. "I'll talk to him later."

"Okay," Pyrrha replied as she gently kissed her boyfriend's cheek…making a certain hammer user angry that her teammate hadn't noticed her feelings for him.

The rest of the Doubles' Rounds for the day went smoothly, two teams being from Atlas, one from Haven, and another from Shade. Math, Robin, Yang and Weiss hoped to go today, but it seemed that they would have to wait until another day.

" **That concludes the Doubles' Rounds for today,"** Oobleck announced. **"Will everyone please exit the Colosseum in a CALM AND ORDERLY FASHION!?"**

"I really wish he'd stop doing that," Ruo commented as everyone started to leave the Colosseum. To everyone's surprise, Weiss rushed out of the place, heading for the ships that would take everyone back to Beacon.

"What's up with her?" Robin asked.

"Her sister's meeting her for lunch," Ruby informed. "She's been excited all day."

"She has a sister?" Jaune asked. "I didn't know that."

"Do you have any siblings, Jaune?" Math asked.

"Seven sisters," he admitted, making all of MRRN stop.

"Seven sisters?" Ruo repeated. "You grew up with seven sisters?"

"Yep," Jaune confirmed.

"Wow…I feel for you," Math spoke as he opened his arms. "Need a bro hug?"

"I'm fine," the leader of Team JNPR declined as they went on to leave the Colosseum.

-0-

Junior Xiong was pouring himself a drink before the busiest hours were going to begin. It was the evening and the club was about to open, so he was going to take this time to get himself ready. Suddenly, the door opened to show three armed fighters enter the club.

"Club's closed," he called out. "We'll be open in a few hours."

"We need to talk to Junior Xiong," the swordsman replied.

"Well…here I am," he answered. "So what is it?" The three of them walked up to him and sat across from him.

"My name is Forest," Forest introduced himself. "These are my teammates, Sterling and Ruadh. We need to ask you some questions."

"What do you want?" he replied as he took a sip of his drink.

"Were you recently visited by anyone who paid you for information?" Forest questioned.

"I get paid to tell a lot of things," Junior replied. "You're going to have to be more specific."

"Alright," Forest responded. "Has anyone paid you more than once? As in, you keep telling them information and they pay you?"

"Why should I talk?" Junior asked. Forest narrowed his eyes and rose up, putting his hands on the table.

"Because some of those people may've been Iron Knights," he informed, making Junior's eyes widened. "If it's true, then you could be an asset to terrorism. We all know what happens to terrorists in prison, especially those associated with the Iron Knights."

"Wait…what?" Junior asked. Forest took out the journal from earlier and put it on the table.

"It says here that you barely helped them," he explained. "This belongs to an Iron Knight. If the law found out you were associated with them, you could be arrested for aiding in terrorism. You got away with helping Roman because he had influence in this city to protect you. Now, he's locked up and charged with terrorism as well. You could be facing the same."

"Okay, okay," Junior replied, not wanting to be charged with helping the Iron Knights. "There were two guys who came here a while back wanting to make a deal; I keep tabs on enforcement and they keep on bringing Lien. Suddenly, they stopped paying me. I called them and asked what was happening; they claimed the information I was giving them was inadequate, so they decided to call off the deal." He saw Sterling looked at him, his two fingers on his head.

"What's up with him?" Junior asked.

"He's telling the truth," Sterling confirmed. "Both of them were males. One was blonde, green-eyed and stubble. The other was dark-haired, blue eyes and clean-shaven. I can recognize them if we see them."

"What just happened?" Junior asked, freaked out by this.

"That's not important," Forest answered. "What is important is that we have we need. So unless you want to be charged for associating with terrorists, I'd suggest you cut all ties with them. Let's go." Forest, Sterling and Ruadh exited the club, now possessing the information they needed.

"These two men who were dealing with Junior may be our key to finding Nachtfel," Sterling insisted.

"Then let's find them," Ruadh replied. "Do you think we can trust Junior to keep his mouth shut and not warn them?"

"People like Junior are only in it for the Lien," Sterling responded. "You lose your Lien, you lose their loyalty."

"I'll take to the skies," Forest replied. "Sterling and Ruadh, you two look around together. Keep a telepathic link on me in case any of us find something."

"Understood," Sterling acknowledged. Forest shapeshifted into his eagle form and flew off, leaving Sterling and Ruadh to walk around.

" _I hope we find them,"_ Forest hoped. _"If Nachtfel wins, there's no telling what the death toll will be. No…he mustn't win. We cannot let him…or Salem."_

 **Author's Notes: The Pyrrha x Nora vs. Sun x Neptune was going to be in the original RWBY show, but was cut due to time strain. After finding out about it, I decided to put it in my Fanfic.**

 **As usual, if you have constructive criticism to share, then write a review or PM me. Enjoy, fellow writers!**


	12. Never Miss A Mark

**RWBY: MRRN**

 **Volume 3, Chapter 12: Never Miss A Mark**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

"Nasser, this is going too far," Math told his rebellious teammate in their dorm. "I don't like Sun's kleptomania either, but-"

"But what?" Nasser interrupted. "He keeps stealing from everyone and acts like nothing happens. For Gods' sake, he needs to grow up and stop being such a bonehead!"

"And you need to grow up and stop being derogatory towards everyone!" Math shouted. "Violence doesn't solve everything. If it did, the world would be far more hostile than it already is."

"What does that have to do with Ass Wukong?" Nasser questioned.

"It means we cannot always turn to violence to solve our problems," Math answered. "Trust me; if Sun keeps up this behavior, then let him suffer the consequences. You don't need to go down with him."

"I won't," Nasser claimed. "Because I'm not the one stealing everything and constantly breaking the law! And I'm especially not responsible for the Paladin Incident." Math's eyes widened.

"That's low, even for you," the swordsman replied.

"Well, it's true," Nasser claimed again. "While Sun was too busy having fun and then leaving Team RWBY to fight Torchwick themselves, people got injured and killed. Still, he acted like he did nothing wrong. I may be a jerk, but at least I have a sense of morality. Too bad the same can't be said for that filthy monkey!"

"I heard that!" Sun called out from the window, hanging from a branch. The minute Nasser saw him, his expression changed from annoyance to absolute anger. He was about to walk over to the window, but Math stopped him.

"I do care about what happened!" Sun claimed as he leapt into the room. "I admit, I screwed up bad. But I didn't mean for those people to die."

"I know, it's all Torchwick's fault," Nasser mocked. "That's all you said when you got busted by the VSU. I wish they had taken you away by now. You don't deserve to be a Huntsman."

"Oh, I don't deserve to be a Huntsman?" Sun challenged. "I'm not the one being a complete jerk to everyone!"

"Well, I'm not the one-"

"STOP IT!" Math roared, nearly toppling both of them. They both looked at Math, who they could easily tell that he was fed up with their fighting. Nasser had never seen his team leader so angry before…it honestly scared him.

"When are you two going to grow up and stop being idiots!?" he questioned angrily. "Neither of you are saints, so don't act like you're better than the other!"

"Whoa, whoa," Nasser responded. "Math, calm down."

"Do not tell me to calm down," the swordsman spoke in a low growl. "If you two want to be at each other's throats, then do it somewhere else! If you two want to get kicked out of the Academies because you're not willing to stop fighting, then go ahead! It's obvious neither of you will listen."

"Math-" Sun tried to talk.

"GET OUT!" he roared. Both of them looked at each other and back at Math, who seemed ready to rip their heads off if they didn't leave. Finally, they both walked out the door and closed it behind them.

"Has he ever been that mad before?" Sun asked.

"No," Nasser answered. "Math may get annoyed or upset sometimes, but that…that's not usually him."

"Maybe…maybe this fighting between is getting out of control," Sun suggested.

Nasser remained silent. He didn't want to admit it, but Sun was right. By now, almost everyone in Beacon knew about the enmity between the two of them. The knife user lashing out the way he did towards the leader of Team SSSN the other day had been talked about quite a bit.

They now couldn't look at each other without getting angry, especially Nasser…because every time Sun stole from him, it reminded him of Cassim's betrayal. The knife user said nothing as he walked away, but Sun caught a mixed look of regret, sadness and anger before he turned away.

Math let out a loud yell before slumping onto his bed and burying his face in his hands. He felt everything was piling on him; his teammates' issues, his conflict about his father, his growing distrust for Ozpin…worst off, he felt as he was incapable of solving any of these problems.

What could he do to alleviate the problems Robin, Ruo and Nasser were facing? He couldn't make things better between Robin and Dearg after all the years of anger between the two. He couldn't bring Ruo's father's murderer to justice when he had no evidence. He couldn't prove to Nasser whether his brother was truly sorry for his past or if he was still the same.

Even though he had promised Pyrrha to let Donovan go, it was much easier said than done. He had done everything he could to stay away from anything related to his father, but it was still coming back to haunt him. He honestly didn't know if he could keep his promise to Pyrrha.

He had been suspicious of Ozpin ever since the mission. He didn't want to believe that the Headmaster he had trusted, who had accepted him into Beacon when the Aurum turned him away, would intentionally send him and his team against foes they weren't prepared for.

Just then, there was a ring in his pocket; it was his scroll. He pulled it out to see the number belonging to Forest Kotka. He thought about hanging up, but didn't want to be rude towards him, so he answered.

"Hey, Forest," Math greeted.

" _Hey, son,"_ Forest replied. _"You sound a bit under the weather. What's wrong?"_

"I can't," Math responded. "I know you've got a lot on your plate, so-"

" _I'm never too busy to talk with you when you need someone,"_ Forest assured. _"Now talk to me."_

Math let out everything like a flood. He told Forest everything that was bothering him; his feeling of being unable to help his teammates, his conflict about seeing his father, and his growing distrust for Ozpin. All the while, Forest listened, only talking when Math asked him something. By the time it was done, there was silence.

" _Math,"_ Forest spoke gently. _"You've always had a big heart and you want to help others. However, sometimes you can't do anything to fix other peoples' problems; at those times, you just need to let them handle it themselves. Trying to get involved could cause more harm than resolve."_

"Everyone's been on edge ever since all these things came up…including me," Math admitted. "I honestly don't know what to do about Donovan."

" _You're old enough to make your own decisions,"_ Forest responded. _"If you're wanting my opinion, however, I agree with your mother. You should just forget him. All he'll do is hurt you more than he already has."_

"I just have questions to ask, things to say…" Math spoke, but derailed from his sentence.

" _And all he'll probably do is deflect the blame as he always has,"_ Forest reminded. _"If you want to go see him, then that's your choice. But if you do, you should be prepared mentally."_

"I don't know," Math confessed.

" _Yes, you do,"_ Forest responded, knowing his student better than that. _"I have to go now. When I get a chance to see you, I'll let you know. In the meantime, do well in the Doubles' Rounds."_

"Will do," the swordsman assured.

" _Take care then, son,"_ Forest spoke.

"You too," Math replied before hanging up. As he put the scroll in his pocket, he whispered the word 'Dad'.

-0-

" **Welcome back to the Doubles' Rounds!"** Oobleck announced. **"Let us see who is fighting today!"** The images rotated as usual, landing on Math and Robin and two students from Atlas.

" **Mathdon and Robin of Beacon against Copper and Phillip of Atlas!"** Port announced. **"Retrieve your weapons and ready yourselves for combat!"** Everyone walked down with Math and Robin to wish them luck on their match. When everyone left, Nasser stayed behind.

"Math," he started. "Sorry things got real out of hand yesterday."

"I should be the one apologizing," Math claimed. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

"Did Nasser just apologize?" Robin questioned, rarely ever hearing his teammate apologize.

"Well…do good out there," Nasser spoke before leaving to sit with the others. Math and Robin walked onto the Arena to see the two students from Atlas walk forward from the opposite entrance.

One had a semi-muscular built with shaggy brown hair, brown eyes, and a cowboy-like appearance. His weapon was a revolver on the right side of his belt and a whip on his left, appearing to be able to have Dust infused into it.

The other seemed far more professional with his brown hair properly combed to one side, his face clean-shaven in contrast to his teammate and Math and carried the presence of a soldier. His weapon appeared as a suit of tech-like armor similar to the appearance of an Atlesian Knight with reinforced gauntlets, a jet pack and a helmet in his hand.

"Hey, I know you," the cowboy, Copper Hanks, called out to Math. "You're Mathdon Kendrick." The swordsman raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"I didn't know I had a reputation," he replied.

"I've heard about you," Copper repeated. "You're the only one who ever managed to go toe-to-toe with Pyrrha Nikos. She's quite the beauty."

"And she's spoken for," Math informed Copper.

"Easy now, I'm not trying to steal anyone," Copper assured.

"We can worry about girlfriends later," Phillip Grunaugen interrupted as he placed his helmet on his head. "For now, we have a match to win."

"Just having some friendly conversation, General Phillip," Copper teased. The biomes were chosen for the match; ice, forest, ocean and desert.

"Alright, home field advantage," Copper smirked as he looked at the desert biome.

"You're from Vacuo?" Math asked.

"Sure am," the cowboy answered before drawing his pistol and whip.

"You take Phillip, I'll take Copper," Robin insisted, to which Math agreed as the two members of MRRN prepared their weapons.

" **3, 2, 1…BEGIN!"** Oobleck announced.

Almost immediately, Phillip activated his jetpack and charged at Math, knocking him into an ice wall. Math was able to recover in time to block another attack with Dionach, though he was still pushed back several feet.

Copper pulled out his revolver and shot three times at Robin, which he evaded each one with his great agility. The archer nocked an arrow and fired at Copper, but he deflected the attack with a swipe of his whip. It was followed by him striking his weapon at Robin several times before managing to wrap it around his ankle and throwing him over to the desert biome.

Phillip hovered above Math at the ice biome, changing his gauntlets into a laser-like weapon. The swordsman brought up his shield and blocked the immense force of the laser, bearing down on him like a great force. It continued for several moments until it suddenly stopped; Math looked up to see that the laser weapon had overheated.

The swordsman imbued Claiomh Solais with an Aura Sword and threw it at Phillip; even he blocked the attack, Math used his Semblance to bring the blade on him from behind, knocking him out of the sky. The leader of MRRN rushed to him as he retrieved his sword and swung at him, but missed.

Phillip delivered an uppercut blow to Math's jaw, knocking him back. He delivered punch after punch at Math, some of them hitting his shield, others landing on him. The swordsman threw his shield, hoping to disrupt Phillip's attack rhythm; instead, the Atlesian ducked and swept his leg at Math's feet, knocking him on the ground. However, as Phillip got up, Math quickly struck his legs with his sword and charged him into an ice wall with Dionach.

On the desert biome, Robin evaded Copper's whip strikes and revolver shots. He nocked an arrow onto the bowstring and fired at the cowboy, but it flew right past him. This left him open to getting his arm shot with an Ice Dust arrow and in the torso with a Fire Dust one. The explosion knocked him back and against a rock.

"Nice one," Copper complimented before breaking the ice on his arm and reloading his revolver. He then charged at Robin, leaping over him and dodging two arrows from the archer; the cowboy then unloaded two bullets onto him before he could turn around. Copper then attempted to strike him with his whip, but Robin caught on in time to dodge the attack by doing a backflip.

"Sorry, fella, but you're not winning this match," Copper claimed. "I never miss a mark."

Phillip grabbed Dionach and fought in a strength tug-of-war with Math, who was pushing the shield against the Atlesian. Math deactivated his shield and swung at Phillip, landing a powerful hit on him that caused his green Aura to shimmer.

"How long did it take to make that armor?" the swordsman asked as he swung at Phillip, who caught the blade with his hands.

"Nearly eight months," the armor user answered with a strained tone. He dodged to the side, then activated his laser. This time, Math didn't bring up Dionach in time and was sent flying into the ocean biome.

" **Whoa, that laser Mr. Grunaugen has is definitely a powerful one,"** Port announced.

" **Indeed, it is,"** Oobleck agreed. **"I'm very curious to see how Mr. Kendrick will handle him."**

"You can beat him, Math!" Ruby cheered from the bleachers. "Do it for Pyrrha!" The redhead immediately blushed at what Ruby said, knowing Math would do just about anything for her.

Robin made his way to the forest biome and quickly took cover in the trees with Copper following after him. The cowboy reached the center and looked around, hoping to find his opponent.

"Come out, come out wherever you are," Copper called out. He knelt down on one knee and placed his hand on the ground.

" **What is this?"** Oobleck asked.

" **Mr. Hanks's Semblance, of course,"** Port announced. **"His Semblance allows him to detect motions from over 100 paces away. This makes him very hard to sneak up on."**

Robin moved, alerting Copper to his location. He aimed his revolver and fired several shots at the archer; all of them hit him, causing his red Aura to shimmer.

" **It appears Robin is having difficulty against Copper Hanks,"** Port pointed out. **"He used this strategy against Nathan Mavro in the Teams' Rounds. It may not work so well against Mr. Hanks."**

"Then I'll change it up," Robin whispered as he leapt out of the clearing and slashed at Copper with the razor edges of his bow. However, the cowboy dodged in time to unload another bullet onto his Aura.

In the ocean biome, Math got up as he saw Phillip charging at him with his jetpack. The swordsman activated Dionach just as the Atlesian made contact with him, bearing down on his shield as his jetpack kept him in the air. He was using all of his force to push Math back…but he was barely moving a foot.

The leader of MRRN retaliated by pushing back at Phillip, making the armor user put more power in his jetpack. However, this left him vulnerable to Math attacking him with a strike imbued with one of his Aura Swords. He was sent flying into the ship of the ocean biome.

Math leapt across the islands to reach his opponent. Just as he reached the ship, Phillip rose up and tightened his fists before bringing them up.

The swordsman swung at Phillip, ducking to avoid the attack before kicking at his torso; Math blocked it with Dionach, along with a roundhouse kick from the armor user. Math threw his sword at Phillip, who deflected the blade and rushed at the swordsman.

Just as Phillip was about to kick at him again, Math used his Semblance to bring his blade back and strike his opponent in the back, knocking him into the water. Math took this quick moment to look up at the Aura monitors; he was at 54%, Phillip was 47%, Copper was at 75%, and Robin was at 24%.

"Oh, man," Math whispered. "He's not doing so well against Copper. I have to deal with Phillip and help him out."

"You're not going anywhere," Phillip called out as he charged at him once more, both of them flying into the center part of the Arena. A loud ring was heard, meaning one of the opponents had been beaten.

" **Robin Kendrick is eliminated by low Aura level!"** Port announced. **"It's now 2-on-1."**

"We've got this," Copper claimed as he emerged from the forest biome.

"Oh, man," Nasser spoke. "You can think he can handle them?"

"He can," Pyrrha replied firmly, having complete faith in Mathdon's combat abilities.

Phillip again charged at Math, who used Dionach to knock him to the side and stumble to his teammate. Copper leapt over him and unloaded three bullets at Math, prompting him to charge and raise his shield to block the bullets.

Copper slid to the side to hit Math's unguarded flank, but the swordsman caught on in time to activate Claiomh Solais's shotgun mode and fired at the cowboy, dealing significant damage to his copper Aura.

Phillip kicked at Math, but he raised his shield and blocked the attack, though it did knock him back a little. The swordsman dodged another attack before slashing at Phillip's torso, causing his green Aura to shimmer from the impact. The leader of MRRN imbued his weapon with two Aura swords and slashed at Phillip once again, annihilating the remainder of his Aura.

" **Phillip Grunaugen is eliminated by low Aura level!"** Oobleck announced. **"The match is officially a 1-on-1."**

Copper leapt at Math, striking at him with his whip; even though it struck Math, it seemed to not do much damage to his Aura. The cowboy aimed his revolver and fired three shots at Math, which he deflected with his blade.

Math threw his weapon at Copper, but he dodged the attack and unloaded the rest of his bullets at his opponent, all blocked by Dionach. However, the cowboy hadn't seen Math's Semblance in the match and caught on too late what Math was doing.

The swordsman raised his shield, then used his Semblance to throw his sword into Copper, slamming him into Dionach. With only enough Aura left, Math grabbed his sword and slashed at the cowboy, eliminating him from the match.

" **Mathdon Kendrick wins against Copper Hanks and Phillip Grunaugen!"** Port announced. **"A true display of swordsmanship, skill and determination."**

Everyone cheered for Math. Ruo and Nasser leapt up and cheered for their leader, impressed by him taking down both Copper and Phillip. Ruby and Yang loudly changed "Mathdon! Mathdon!", soon followed by several others. Pyrrha cupped her mouth and cheered for her boyfriend as well, clapping excitedly. She knew he could do it.

With the match over, Math rushed to the forest biome to check on his cousin. He found him leaning against a tree, his Aura completely depleted.

"You okay?" he asked as he ran over to him. "Do you need medical attention?"

"I'll be fine," Robin cockily assured. "Nice job out there."

"You did good too," Math complimented. The two of them walked out of the forest biome to see Copper and Phillip get onto their feet and look at their opponents, the armor user taking his helmet off.

"You two did very well," Phillip saluted. "I hope to fight you two again."

"Same here," Copper replied. "Honestly, Math; no intention of stealing your girlfriend."

"I believe you," Math assured with a smile.

-0-

"Dude, you were a badass out there!" Nas complimented. "Was that armor really tough?"

"It was," Math answered. "Phillip's armor is definitely no pushover."

"Is that even allowed?" Weiss asked. "The use of that kind of armor, I mean?"

"Maybe, considering they didn't call off the match," Ruo pointed out. "The rules do state that if any of the combatants are using weapons deemed unfit for the tournament, the match can be called off."

"What about you, Robin?" Yang asked. "You feeling alright?"

"I'm fine," Robin assured. "Just a few bumps and bruises."

"Well, there's still two more matches today," Yang reminded them. "I hope Weiss and I get to go next. I think it's 'vytal' we-" Ruo cut her off by kissing her strongly, to which she quickly sunk into.

"Thanks, Ruo," Math spoke.

-0-

Ozpin, Qrow and Glaucus were in the office, looking at a recording of the match between Mathdon, Phillip and Copper earlier today.

"He's not ready," Glaucus stated. "Math is strong, but he's not ready to be part of our conflict."

"Our Maiden will need a guardian for herself," Ozpin spoke. "There's no one more qualified than Mathdon Kendrick. He's strong, caring…and he loves her."

"He's been suspicious of you ever since the mission up north," Glaucus added. "If he feels that you're not telling the truth, then what's to stop him from thinking he needs to protect Pyrrha from YOU?"

"After we explain the situation, I'm sure he'll understand," Qrow responded. "From what Yang and Ruby told me, he's pretty mature."

"But this will all be new to them," Glaucus replied. "Salem, the Maidens…I still don't like this."

"Neither do I," Ozpin agreed. "But we're running out of time. We may not be able to save Amber, but we can at least make sure her powers are put in responsible hands."

"It is far too much of a risk," Glaucus insisted. "You said it yourself; we're not sure if the machine will work. Why won't you accept my idea of asking Forest?"

"Because he turned his back on us," Qrow dismissed. "Ozpin made him a part of this and how does he thank him? By badmouthing him and leaving him just like Raven did."

"At least he's still fighting," the Gray Wanderer pointed out.

"Let's say we do ask Forest for help and he agrees," Ozpin replied. "What then?"

"Once he's found the woman responsible for stealing the Maiden powers, we lure them somewhere where we can trap her by having her 'accidentally' find out where Amber is," Glaucus answered. "The Emerald Forest or Forever Fall would be an ideal place to lure her. No witnesses, no risk of civilian casualties…we'd have her right where we want her."

"And kill her?" Qrow asked, not liking the idea of it.

"If it's necessary," the Gray Wanderer answered.

"While it is a good plan, I don't think the assailant would be dumb enough to fall for it," Ozpin spoke. "She'd probably guess we'd never put Amber somewhere so far away from our reach."

Glaucus groaned. Both plans were risky, but he felt his would be a much better one since they'd have a chance to get the other half of Amber's power back. The machine was far too unpredictable; for all they knew, it'd may just give the assailant the rest of Amber's powers.

"We need to tell them everything," Glaucus insisted once more. "We're asking them to put their lives on the line for our conflict, to sacrifice everything for us."

"I know," Ozpin replied. "We must not let the Maiden powers fall into Salem's hands. If we do, there's no telling what hell will be unleashed on Remnant."

 **Author's Notes: I thought this would be a bit of interesting trivia concerning the teams in the Vytal Tournament.**

 **TEAM SNOW- Martial Arts**

 **Shiro Kimura- Kenjutsu (Sword Martial Arts)**

 **Nathan Mavro- Shurikenjutsu (Shuriken Martial Arts)**

 **Odin Crimson- Jujutsu (Unarmed Martial Arts)**

 **Winston Grey- Kamajutsu (Kama Martial Arts)**

 **TEAM PLTM- Sci-Fi Characters**

 **Platin Reynolds- Malcolm Reynolds (Firefly)**

 **Luke Sky- Luke Skywalker (Star Wars)**

 **Terrence Silber- Terminator (Terminator)**

 **Meralda Ripley- Ellen Ripley (Alien)**

 **Copper Hanks- Woody (Toy Story)**

 **Phillip Grunaugen- Buzz Lightyear (Toy Story)**

 **I hope you found this trivia a bit entertaining. Continue to read and write, my fellow writers!**


	13. Broken Justice

**RWBY: MRRN**

 **VOLUME 3, CHAPTER 13: Broken Justice**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

 **Author's Notes: I already uploaded this chapter, but since it was on the same day as my last upload, I felt it would throw people off. So I deleted it and uploaded it again.**

It was now Yang and Weiss's match against Flynt Coal and Neon Katt of Atlas Academy. From the look of it, Neon was doing a good job taunting Yang, getting her riled up.

"Don't listen to her, Yang!" Ruo shouted. "She's just trying to anger you! You need to focus!" Suddenly, Ruo's scroll went off, indicating he was receiving a call from someone. He took it out of the pocket of his robe and looked at the number, immediately recognizing it as the VSU number.

"I have to take this," Ruo informed everyone as he left the bleachers and found a quiet area to answer his scroll.

"Hello?"

" _Hello, Ruo,"_ Gormen answered. _"I'm glad you picked up. I need to speak with you."_

"It's about Grant Denim?" Ruo questioned, hoping it was good news. He had been dying to hear from the VSU Lieutenant say that they could put his father's murderer behind bars.

" _We cannot arrest Grant Denim,"_ Gormen solemnly informed.

Those words hit the Faunus like a stab from a knife. He didn't just hear that; he didn't just hear that the man who ruined his family was allowed to walk free. He had to have misheard.

"Tell me you're joking," Ruo insisted.

" _I'm afraid not,"_ Gormen regretfully answered. _"We contacted the MSU and asked for permission to access the case. I told them what you said, what had happened…but they refused to believe Mistral police officers would behave in such a manner. They won't accept that they would let a murderer walk free."_

"But they did!" Ruo shouted. "Those officers knew or suspected that my mother was not the killer and they still arrested her just because she's a Faunus! I don't understand why you can't arrest Grant Denim."

" _This case belongs to the MSU,"_ Gormen explained. _"In order to gather evidence against Denim, we'd need to have access to the case. Since they won't allow it, any move on Grant Denim for your father's murder would be deemed illegal. It'd put the VSU in a very terrible position."_

"Tell me this isn't happening," Ruo begged, feeling a tear roll down his cheek. "This man killed my father. He cannot to be allowed to just walk away. Is there anything you can do?"

" _If we arrest Grant Denim on the charges of murdering your father, the MSU will cause a lot of trouble for us, trouble that would take months to fix,"_ the VSU Lieutenant. _"Trust me, Mr. Bai Hu; I did everything I could to persuade them, but they will not accept that two Mistral officers would brazenly let a murderer walk free."_

"They're just trying to keep their reputation stainless!" Ruo claimed. "They probably know that what you're saying is true, but accessing the case means exposing a major injustice in their kingdom! That's the only reason why they won't you access it."

" _I know plenty well of Mistral's history with Faunus,"_ Gormen shot back. _"Despite that, we cannot access the case without their consent. I'm sorry, Mr. Bai Hu; we cannot arrest Grant Denim."_

Ruo didn't want to hear anymore, so he hung up and stood there, processing what had happened.

The MSU probably knew that their officers had acted out of line and arrested an innocent person, but they didn't want it to come into the light. They didn't want to ruin their reputation by revealing the injustice surrounding Dr. Guiren Bai Hu's death.

His teeth started to bare. His breathing turned into a very low growl. His eyes narrowed in anger. His fists clenched so tight that he felt he could dig his nails into his skin.

In a bout of rage, Ruo punched a trash can and sent it flying across the hallway, tumbling and spilling trash as it did. He then punched the wall, creating a large dent before getting onto his knees and giving out a loud roar of anger and grief. The only thing that kept it from being heard by everyone was Yang and Weiss's match as the alarm went off, meaning one of the combatants had been eliminated.

He looked down at the ground, tears falling from his eyes like rain. He sniffled as he cried, not holding back any of the pain he was feeling.

He tried to get justice for his father the legitimate way, but the VSU couldn't help. If they did, the Mistral Special Unit could create a whole lot of political trouble for them since they denied their request to access the case. He had no choice but to let his father's murderer walk free or he'd risk getting in trouble with the law.

No. He needed closure. He needed justice for his tragedy. He knew what had to be done. With this in mind, he ran out of the Colosseum.

-0-

The match was over. Yang had beaten both Flynt and Neon despite Weiss being eliminated. Everyone cheered for the blonde brawler as she rushed over to check on her teammate, who had sacrificed her Aura to unsuccessfully knock out Flynt. Blake and Ruby rose from their chairs and hurried to the Arena.

"Where's Ruo?" Math wondered. "He wasn't here for the match at all." He picked up his scroll, dialed his teammate's number and put it to his ear. It rang and rang until it replied _'The number you are calling right now is not available. Please try again later.'_

"He's not answering his scroll," Math informed, worrying him.

"Uh, guys," Nasser called out from the hallway, having gone to look. "You may want to come see this." Math and Robin along with JNPR went to the hallway to see a trash can that had been punched and a large dent in the wall.

"Did Ruo do this?" Jaune wondered.

"I need to make a call," Robin informed as he walked away and dialed Uncle Gormen's number.

"What's going on?" Pyrrha asked.

"We think we know, but we're not sure," Math answered.

"Math…" Pyrrha replied, not wanting him to keep secrets from her.

"It's something we cannot say," the swordsman claimed. "It's not my place to say it."

"Uncle Gormen, did you call Ruo?" Robin asked when he was a good distance away.

" _I did,"_ he answered. _"We cannot arrest Grant Denim."_

"What?" Robin gasped. "Why?"

" _The MSU won't let us access the case,"_ Gormen informed. _"I told this to Ruo and…he didn't take it well."_

"Oh, no," Robin gasped as his eyes widened. "I have to go." He hung and rushed back to his teammates.

"I've tried calling Ruo again several times," Math informed. "He's not answering."

"Guys," Robin addressed. "We have a real problem."

"What's going on?" Pyrrha demanded to know. The three friends looked at each other, silently contemplating whether they should tell Team JNPR or not. Reluctantly, they explained about Ruo's father being murdered and one of the medics was the killer. All of Team JNPR was shocked to hear this.

"There's more, but that's not for us to say," Math explained. "We asked our Uncle Gormen in the VSU to help, but since the MSU denied their request, they cannot arrest Grant Denim."

"Grant Denim?" Pyrrha asked. "He's the medic who was struck with pneumonia. I overheard one of the doctors saying Ruo asked her about him."

"Does Ruo know where he is?" Nasser asked.

"Hold on, hold on," Robin spoke, holding up his hands. "We can't just assume he's going after Grant. Ruo's never been one for being impulsive."

"But this is different," Math replied. "This is his father's killer we're talking about."

"Anyhow, we need to find him before he hurts himself or anyone," Pyrrha insisted. The two teams hurried to the ships that would take them to the fair grounds. As they flew away from the Colosseum, Robin tried calling Ruo and texting him…but still he received no reply.

"He's still not responding," the archer informed. Just then, Jaune's scroll went off; he took it out of his pocket to see Ruby's picture on the screen, prompting him to answer.

" _Hey, Jaune,"_ Ruby greeted. _"Where are you guys? We can't find you anywhere."_

"Ruo's gone," Jaune answered. "He's not answering his scroll. He's just left and we have no idea where he is."

" _What do you mean you have no idea where he is?!"_ Yang questioned. _"Where are you!?"_

"We're on a ship heading back to the fair grounds," Math spoke, activating his own scroll to lock in on their conversation.

" _Why didn't you tell us?!"_ Yang demanded to know.

"We didn't have time," Math answered. "We'll explain later."

" _You'll explain now!"_ Yang demanded. _"Why would Ruo just run off?"_

"It's not something you can say over the scroll," Math answered. Yang was silent; Math didn't know it, but the blonde brawler felt she knew what was going on…and it obviously had something to do with Grant Denim.

" _Where are you guys heading?"_ Weiss asked.

"We'll head back to Beacon to check the campus and dorm for him," Math answered. "If we can't find him there, we'll head to Vale. I just hope he's okay."

" _Me too,"_ Yang agreed. _"We'll let you know when we get there."_

"Alright," Math acknowledged before hanging up.

"Okay, my teammates and I will check the north part of Beacon and our dorm building for him," the swordsman suggested.

"We can check the south part," Jaune offered.

"Sounds good," Robin agreed. "Let's just hope Ruo's not doing anything stupid. I doubt it, but we shouldn't rule it out."

As soon as the ship landed, they split up and looked around Beacon for the White Tiger Faunus. Nasser quickly ran to their room and unlocked the door, only to find it empty.

"He's not in our dorm," Nasser informed over his scroll.

"Dammit," Math replied as he checked around the CCT and courtyard. "I don't see him anywhere. Jaune, Pyrrha, are you having any luck on your side?"

" _Sun saw him,"_ Jaune informed. _"He saw him head towards the locker room and took his weapon with him."_ All members of Team MRRN stopped dead in their tracks. To hear Ruo take his weapon from the locker room…was horrifying to think of what he planned to do.

"Oh, Gods," Math breathed out. "You don't think-?"

"We need to get to Vale," Robin interrupted. "I don't have enough room in my car for all seven of us."

" _We'll take the transport,"_ Pyrrha offered. _"Don't wait for us. Just find him."_

"I'll call Yang, let her know to head to Vale," Math informed. "We need to find out where Grant Denim is."

" _On it,"_ Jaune responded before hanging up.

-0-

Was it worth it? Was it worth being arrested to kill a man for the sake of revenge? Or had his ability to think things through simply vanished when he heard Gormen say they couldn't arrest Grant Denim, the man who had killed his father, who had driven his mother to brutality?

Even as he hurried across the rooftops to find Grant's home, he felt his inner conflict rage within himself.

" _This isn't right! Why would you be so willing to throw away your future? Are you truly going to choose revenge over your friends and teammates? Over your love for Yang?"_

" **That man has stolen everything from me! My father would still be alive if it weren't for him! I'd never have to kill my mother if it wasn't for him! My body would never have been maimed if not for him! He deserves to die!"**

" _At what cost?! If you kill him, they will find you and put you in prison! All your work, all your friendships, your relationship with Yang…it will all go down the toilet! You'll be betraying the faith of your teammates!"_

" **They don't know my pain! They've never had to watch their own parents die in front of them! What do they know? If anything, they should understand why I need to do this!"**

" _Your teammates know their own pain! Math was verbally and emotionally abused by his father and bullied for his Asperger's. Robin suffered from his brother's alcoholism, even after he was arrested. Nasser lost his father and was betrayed by his brother, leaving their family in poverty."_

" **But they weren't forced into serving the White Fang! They were discriminated against for their Faunus heritage! They do not understand my pain and they never will!"**

" _They'll know a new pain if you kill Grant. They'll have to endure the pain of their teammate, their dearest friend, becoming a criminal, a murderer. Do you truly wish to put them through that?"_

" **To hell with them! This isn't about them, this is about my parents! They deserve justice! The VSU won't do anything about it, so we need to!"**

" _There is a fine line between 'need' and 'want'. You WANT to kill him, but you NEED to think this through. How will killing Grant help anyone?"_

Ruo stopped for the moment after he saw the man through a window in a robe, coughing before he took medicine. This was it; this was the time to face the man who had ruined his family.

Having replaced his usual white robe with a black stealth outfit, Ruo raised up his facemask and brought his hood over his head before turning invisible. He leapt through the window, landing with a quiet thud. Luckily, it didn't alert Grant to his presence.

However, he deliberately alerted him when he slammed the window shut and deactivated his invisibility. Grant stood there, frozen with fear as he dropped a glass of water.

"Please, take whatever you want," he replied backing into the wall. "You don't need to kill me."

"Yes, I do," Ruo spoke. "Do you know why?"

"Why?" Grant asked. The Faunus removed his facemask and hood, showing himself to the medic.

"Do you remember me?" he questioned. Grant shook his head.

"Think hard," Ruo demanded. Suddenly, it clicked in Grant's mind.

"You're…you're Dr. Guiren Bai Hu's son," Denim realized.

"Yes," Ruo growled. "Ever since that first match at the Amity Colosseum, I've wanted to see you behind bars, but I can't. Now…I want you dead."

"You…you don't have to do this," Denim pleaded.

"Well, you didn't have to kill my father," the Faunus roared. "Do you have any idea what you took away from me? The pain you've caused me?"

"I'm sorry," Grant apologized. "I didn't mean for him to die."

"Then why did you shoot him!?" Ruo roared. "Why did you kill him? Why?!" Grant was quiet for a few moments, remembering that horrible night.

"I needed to get some money," Grant claimed.

"What for?" Ruo growled, extending his claws on Huzhao.

"My daughter…my daughter was sick and I didn't have enough money for surgery," Denim explained. "I was working for your father, so I asked him to let me use some of our medical supplies to help her. He refused."

"No," Ruo denied. "My father would never turn down someone in need. He used his talents to help others."

"Well, he didn't use them to help my daughter," Grant replied, angering the Faunus.

"Did he know?" Ruo questioned.

"I told him everything and he still wouldn't let me use the equipment," Grant responded. "My daughter's life was at stake. I was desperate. So I broke into the house to steal medical equipment and money to pay for more medicine."

"Then why did you have a gun?" the White Tiger challenged.

"I only brought it to scare him if I ran into him," Grant claimed. "Do you remember what happened before he died?" Ruo paused for a moment, trying to remember the night his father died. Strangely, he couldn't remember what happened before his father was shot and killed.

"No," Ruo admitted. "But will I know you're not lying?"

"I swear, I'm telling the truth," Denim pleaded. "I told him to just let me take the equipment I needed and no one would've been hurt. He tackled me and then…I accidentally pulled the trigger."

That part, Ruo remembered as if it were yesterday. He remembered his father being shot in the stomach before falling onto his back. But then…a new memory arose. Denim dropped the gun and had a face of horror on him.

"I swear, I didn't mean to kill your father," Denim claimed. "It was an accident."

"What about my mother?" Ruo questioned. "Why did you let her take the fall?"

"I was scared!" Grant cried. "My daughter would've died without that equipment! Believe it or not, your father was not as selfless as you paint him."

"So this is my father's fault?" Ruo growled with a very threatening tone. "It's his fault you killed him and ruined my life?"

"No, no," Grant denied. "I'm truly sorry for what happened, I am. I was desperate. I…I couldn't bear to lose my daughter as well."

"Well, your choice made me bear the pain of losing my parents," the White Tiger informed. Grant looked to the side, regret and anguish in his eyes. His trembling body suddenly became calm and stable. After having a few moments to recollect himself, he looked Ruo in the eye.

"I'm sorry, Ruo-Jian Bai Hu," Grant apologized sincerely. "I'm sorry for what happened that night. If I could undo what I did, I would. For years, I've lived with this guilt. I couldn't…I didn't want my daughter to lose me too as she lost her mother."

"That doesn't justify what you did," Ruo-Jian pointed out.

"I know," Grant replied. "If killing me is the only way you can have peace, then do it."

Ruo activated the claws on Huzhao, but didn't take any steps towards Grant. Ever since that night, he thought it was a selfish mugging and act of racism against him as a Faunus. He wanted to paint Grant as a morally disgusting person who didn't care for the lives he ruined.

"Daddy?" a young girl voice was heard outside the closed door. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine, sweetheart," Grant responded. "Please, go to your room."

"Okay," she replied before hearing her footsteps walk away.

Ruo could sense that Grant was right. His wife, her mother, had died for unknown reasons and only had one parent. Instead of using her as a shield, he sent her away to keep her out of danger.

The Faunus glared at Grant, but felt his hatred dwindling in light of these facts. His parents deserved justice for their deaths, especially his father, but could he leave a young girl as he was left?

His reasoning came back. If he killed Grant, it wouldn't be justice, it'd be murder. If he killed Grant, it would leave a young girl orphaned and left to whoever could claim her. Perhaps she'd go to someone who care for her, perhaps she'd go to someone who's abuse her in horrendous ways.

Would he inflict on her what was done to him? It hit him; this wasn't the thinking of a Huntsman, it was the thinking of the White Fang. It was the way of the White Fang to inflict wrongs upon those who had wronged the Faunus, the same way of thinking he despised.

Ruo's breathed heavily as he contemplated the decision of either taking revenge or sparing his life. He felt two tears run down his cheek before he fully protracted Huzhao's claws, rushed to Grant and slashed.

Grant expected to feel his warm blood seeping down his body, but he felt nothing other than the clothes on his torso. Ruo had his head down, his clawed gauntlet instead in the wall, leaving a sizeable dent. He slowly retracted it before looking at Grant with a calmed anger in his eyes.

"You deserve to be punished for what you did that night," he stated. "I wanted to kill you. I wanted revenge. But…"

He couldn't put that girl through the same thing he had suffered. He didn't want her to feel the pain of losing one's family as he had. It'd not only be murder, it'd be hypocrisy at its highest.

"I could've ended it now," the Faunus stated. "But…I won't. But I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it for her. I won't make her suffer the way you made me suffer." Just then, police sirens were heard outside, heading for the building they were in.

"Remember, Grant: I know what you've done," Ruo stated before putting his facemask and hood back on. "I chose not to kill you, but that doesn't mean I've forgiven you…nor will I forget."

"I know," Grant replied. Ruo turned invisible, opened the window and leapt away. He looked back as several police officers rushed into the building.

" _You did the right thing. It wouldn't have been justice, it would've been murder."_

Ruo hurried away from the building, several tears in his eyes. When he was sure there was no one following him, he took out his scroll to see 47 missed calls and 51 text messages.

"I'm so sorry," he apologized before dialing a number.

-0-

"Where is he?" Math replied as he, Pyrrha and Jaune looked around, but still had no success of finding Ruo or Grant. Suddenly, his scroll went off; Math pulled it out of his pocket and his eyes widened to see "Ruo-Jian Bai Hu".

"It's Ruo!" Math informed them. He quickly answered it before putting it on speaker.

"Ruo, where are you?" he asked.

" _At Mauve's,"_ he answered. _"I'm so sorry. To all of you."_

"We'll take you back to Beacon first, then we'll talk about what happened," Math sternly informed. "I'll let everyone know. Robin's got his car, so I'll text him to pick you up."

" _Okay,"_ Ruo agreed.

-0-

All of Teams RWBY, JNPR, and MRRN were gathered in the dorm, their eyes on Ruo. He had just explained everything that had happened; how he ran off after Gormen called him, how he had confronted Grant Denim and ultimately decided to spare his life.

"You freaking idiot!" Nasser shouted. "Do you have any idea what could've happened?"

"I do," Ruo answered. "I'm sorry I worried all of you."

"Why would you just run off?!" Yang questioned, her scowl a mix of sadness and anger. "If you had killed him, don't you realize what you would've done to us!? To see the man I love behind bars for murder!?"

Ruo looked at Yang and saw that she had been hurt the most by this. He knew full well that Yang had already lost two mothers and it still hurt her to this day. If Ruo had been arrested for murdering an innocent civilian, which may've resulted in a lifelong sentence, there's no telling how much worse it would've affected her.

"Yang, I'm sorry-"

"I don't want your apology!" Yang snapped at him. "I'm sorry for what happened to you, but you honestly considered throwing us away for your revenge!? How could you be so selfish!?"

Ruo didn't know how to answer that, which made Yang a bit more angry. She knew what he had been through, but she thought he'd never choose revenge over his teammates, over his friends…over her. It felt that he would've abandoned her just as her mother had. Out of nowhere, though probably expected, she slapped Ruo.

"Yang!" Ruby called. She didn't receive a response from her sister before she walked out of the dorm and closed the door behind her.

"I screwed up," Ruo admitted. "I was going to- I would've-"

"But you didn't," Math interrupted. "So, if you see Grant Denim again, will you be able to do the same again?"

"I…I don't know," Ruo confessed, much to his leader's dismay.

"Then don't leave Beacon until the Tournament is over," Math demanded in a stern tone. "I never would've thought you'd be the one to do something like this."

"We don't blame you for being angry, Ruo," Weiss consoled. "But handling the situation you did was irresponsible and stupid. You could've ended up in prison; you still could since you gave your identity away."

"And we won't be able to defend you," Math added. "If Grant-"

"I know," the Faunus interrupted. "I know."

"Geez," Nasser sighed. "I wouldn't be surprised if I acted this way, but I never expected this from you."

"We don't want this from anyone," Pyrrha responded.

Ruo could feel the pressure of broken trust all around him. His decisions today had cost him the trust of all of his friends, who never would've thought he'd act the way he did. They'd hope that once he was picked up, it'd be like it never happened.

But then he brought up that he revealed himself. If Grant Denim testified, Ruo could face prison time for attempted murder. Until they had assurance that Grant would not testify, Ruo was still in danger.

Without a word, everyone walked out of the dorm, including Ruo's teammates, save for Blake. She walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"If you ever need to talk to anyone, I'll be here," she assured before leaving.

"What have I done?" Ruo asked himself, fully realizing the damage he had caused through his actions today.


	14. A Choice of Evils

**RWBY: MRRN**

 **Volume 3, Chapter 14: A Choice of Evils**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

" **Our final Doubles' Round is at hand!"** Port announced. **"Safirlas and Imamu of Haven vs. Cobalt and Bobby of Atlas! Ready your weapons and prepare for the final Doubles' Round."**

Despite being with everyone, Ruo couldn't feel any further from them. His teammates had a look of distrust for him. Team JNPR were still being friendly towards him, but he could sense their contempt for his reckless actions.

The worse was possibly Yang. She wouldn't talk to him ever since that day and whenever she looked at him, she had at times have an expression of anger; others, one of sadness and betrayal. How he was going to mend his relationship with everyone…he didn't know. Hopefully, in time, they would find the will to forgive him for his reckless and selfish actions.

Safirlas and Imamu arrived from one side of the Arena while Cobalt and Bobby came from the other side. Cobalt was a tall and broad young man, standing at possibly 6'5, with navy hair and eyes, properly kept and giving away the presence of a soldier. His weapon was a pair of shotguns with axe blades, both of which were put in straps on his back.

Bobby looked more unruly and boisterous with messy blonde and black hair and a height of 5'5. His weapon was a slender sword with a clear edge, most likely for imbuing Dust.

"Come on, Safirlas!" Math cheered.

"She's got a real challenge on her hands," Pyrrha informed. "Cobalt Cullen is one of Atlas Academy's top students and best combatants."

"How do you know him?" Jaune asked.

"I only know him by his reputation," Pyrrha answered.

"Safirlas and Imamu, it's an honor to fight you," Cobalt greeted. "I will not hold back."

"We'd be insulted if you did," Imamu replied as he flipped his shotel.

"Just stay focused," Safirlas insisted. "He's one of Atlas Academy's top students."

The biomes for the match were chosen; savanna, urban, lava and mountain. Cobalt took out his two axes, holding one in each hand and Bobby infused his blade with Lightning Dust, causing it to crackle.

" **3, 2, 1…BEGIN!"** Oobleck announced. Cobalt immediately unleashed a barrage of blasts on Safirlas, forcing her to dodge the attacks until one of them landed, knocking her into the long grass of the savanna biome. Bobby rushed Imamu and delivered a flurry of sword strikes at him.

" **We're off to a rough start for Safirlas and Imamu!"** Oobleck announced.

Cobalt rushed into the savanna biome, switching his guns into axes. He looked around the long grass, checking for movement from his opponent.

Safirlas quietly drew two daggers from her spear and prepared to throw them at Cobalt. However, she gave away her position and was subjected to two blasts from the axe wielder. The blasts burned away the grass, but she felt this would leave him vulnerable; she kicked at him, making him stumble.

She attacked him with hit and run tactics, striking him with her spear and the vanishing back into the long grass. On one attack, he blasted Safirlas out of the grass, leaving her out in the open.

Bobby and Imamu's duel took them to the lava biome, where the two traded blows with each other. Imamu hooked his ankle and tripped him, attempting to hit him with a shield blow; Bobby flipped backwards and kicked the shield into the air.

"Let's see how good you are with just a sword," Bobby taunted as he rushed forward and traded blows once more with Imamu.

Cobalt leapt forward and brought his axes down on Safirlas, but she dodged the attack and lunged her spear at her opponent. He deflected the attack with one of his axes before switching the other to its shotgun form and shooting at Safirlas. She dodged the attack before leaping onto her weapon and unleashing a frenzy of kicks on Cobalt, which he blocked with his arm.

She fell back before he could hit her with an axe strike, landing on her feet and quickly stabbing at the Atlesian. He blocked every attack with his axes before being thrown off rhythm with a spear twirl. She went for his legs, but he raised his leg to avoid the sweeping attack.

The two traded blows with each other once more until Cobalt managed to hook Himmelkanten with one of his axe blades and slashed her stomach with the other, causing her blue Aura to shimmer. He then attacked with a downward strike of both axes, knocking her to the ground.

" **Oho, it appears Ms. Kendrick isn't doing so well against. Mr. Cullen,"** Port announced.

" **Well, Cobalt Cullen is one of Atlas Academy's best students,"** Oobleck reminded everyone.

Imamu fended off Bobby's attack before he leapt to the side of the mountain biome after recovering his shield. To his shock, Bobby rushed over to him in a flash of yellow and black and slashed at him once more.

" **My word, we just saw another Semblance in action,"** Oobleck announced. **"He calls it, in his own words, the Bumblebee Dash!"**

Imamu attacked Bobby, but the Atlesian swordsman was too fast with his Bumblebee Dash. In a matter of moments, Imamu's red Aura was completely depleted.

" **Imamu Nyekundu is eliminated by low Aura level!"** Port announced.

"What?" Safirlas gasped as she looked across the Arena to see her teammate beaten. She had only a second to process this before she returned to her fight with Cobalt. Bobby was about to hurry over, but his team leader gestured for him to not intervene.

Safirlas continued to put up a very valiant effort, but she ultimately was having a difficult time landing hits on Cobalt. She swept her foot at his leg, but he didn't budge. As she flipped back to dodge his slash, he threw his two axes at her, both of which landed on her and depleted her Aura.

" **With an amazing display of skill, Cobalt and Bobby are victorious!"** Port announced. **"This officially concludes the Doubles' Rounds! The Finals will begin next week, so make sure to tune in!"**

"Man," Math groaned as he looked at the Arena. He couldn't believe how proficiently Cobalt had beaten Safirlas. He had known her as one of the most skilled martial artists he knew, but to see her defeated like made him realize how strong Cobalt Cullen was. If he went up against him in the Finals, he'd have to leave no room for mistakes.

Suddenly, Math's scroll buzzed, indicating he had received a text message. He opened it, seeing he had received it from…Ozpin. The message read "Please come see me in my office after the Doubles' Rounds are concluded."

Math felt his stomach turn. Could Ozpin have learned about Ruo's attempted murder of Grant Denim? If so, this could mean a world of trouble for him and the team.

"I have to go," Math told his teammates. "Ozpin wants to speak to me."

"You too?" Pyrrha asked, catching Math off guard.

"You received a message from Ozpin too?" the swordsman asked. Pyrrha nodded her head.

"Let's not keep him waiting," the Amazon insisted as the two of them left the Colosseum.

-0-

"Thank you both for coming," Ozpin greeted as the two students sat in front of him. "I'd like to congratulate the both of you for your success in the Tournament."

"Thank you, Professor," Pyrrha replied. "I never would've made it without my teammates."

"If you ask me, I think it's the other way around," another voice said from behind the two of them, prompting them to stand up and look over to see a man leaning on the column. Pyrrha didn't know him, but Math recognized him right away.

"Hey, I know you," the swordsman called out. "You're Qrow. You're the one who started that fight that wrecked our courtyard."

"She attacked first," the drunkard dismissed.

"Qrow is a colleague of mine," Ozpin stated.

"Professor, if you don't mind me asking, why did you call us here?" Pyrrha asked.

"Sit and I'll explain," the Headmaster answered. Unknown to any of them, Mathdon was suspicious of this meeting. This wasn't only because of Math's fear of Ruo being caught, but still because of the mission up north. He was being on his guard and was intent on not letting it down.

"What's your favorite fairy tale?" Ozpin asked, confusing the two students.

"Fairy tale?" Math asked.

"Surely, there must've been some that you remember as a child," Ozpin replied.

"Well," Pyrrha started. "There's the Tale of the Two Brothers, the Shallow Sea, the Girl in the Tower-"

"What about the Four Seasons?" Ozpin interrupted.

"I remember that one," Math answered.

"A callous old man recluses himself from the world. One day, he's visited by four sisters. The first understands his solitude and insists that he use that time to meditate and reflect. The second brings him fruits and flowers and tends to his garden, making it plentiful again. The third insists for him to step out and embrace the beautiful world. Th fourth urges him to be thankful for everything he has. In return for their kindness, the old man bestows upon them great power, which they gratefully accept. Each of the Maidens symbolized the four seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. The Four Maidens."

"I didn't know you knew that story," Pyrrha told Mathdon.

"You're familiar with it?" he asked his girlfriend. She nodded.

"My mother loved telling that story to me when I was little."

"Would you believe me if I told you that story's been around since I was a boy?" Ozpin asked.

"You're not that old, Professor," Pyrrha chuckled.

"Well, considering that fairy tale's been around forever, I'd say so," Math responded, earning a scolding look from his girlfriend.

"Well…what if I told you it was true?" Ozpin asked. Math and Pyrrha looked at each other, confusion and anxiety in their eyes. They stayed like this for a moment before turning their attention back to Ozpin.

"I beg your pardon?" the Amazon asked.

"I mean, what if those Maidens existed?" Ozpin asked once more. "What if there were four young women in the world of Remnant capable of great power…without needing Dust?" Math's eyes widened.

"Like a Semblance?" he asked.

"Like magic," the Headmaster answered. Math chuckled a little in response.

"You're joking, right?" the swordsman asked. "The Four Maidens are just a fairy tale."

"That's where you're wrong, kid," Qrow replied, earning him Math's gaze.

"Are you…serious?" Pyrrha asked, uncertainty in her tone. The two students looked at the Headmaster, who was leaving no room for humor in his scowl.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" he questioned.

"No…you don't," Pyrrha answered. "Why are you telling this to us?"

"Because we believe you're next in line to receive the Fall Maiden's power," Ozpin replied. Their eyes widened in shock, hearing that the Maidens actually exist. Just then, a word Ozpin said made Pyrrha ask "We?" As if right on cue, the elevator opened to show Professor Goodwitch and General Ironwood step out.

"What's going on?" Math spoke as if preparing to fight. "Who are you really?"

"Please calm down, Mr. Kendrick," Goodwitch insisted. "We are still the same teachers and headmasters you know."

"But we have a part-time job," Qrow added, making Math raise his eyebrow.

"Part-time job?" he asked.

"We are the guardians of Remnant," Ironwood answered.

"And we need help from the both of you," Ozpin pleaded

-0-

The elevator descended deeper and deeper, further than either of the students thought it was. Math looked over at Pyrrha, who had a scowl of anxiety and uncertainty. Hoping to help her, the swordsman reached over and grabbed her hand. Immediately making contact, Pyrrha looked over at Math and gave him a warm smile as a form of thank you.

After what felt like an eternity, the elevator opened to reveal a green long, tall and faintly lit hallway. Ozpin and his lieutenants walked out first, leaving Mathdon and Pyrrha to slowly walk behind them. Goodwitch took note of this and waited for them as they looked around, still holding hands for assurance.

"I'm sure you have many questions," the professor spoke in a very understanding manner.

"Several," Math replied. "Such as, what is up with the Maidens and stuff? Do they really exist?"

"They do," Goodwitch answered. "Each of the Maidens have immense power at their control, but just like the seasons, they never stay the same. After the Maiden dies, the power seeks out a new host. That way, it ensures the power can never stay with one person."

"How does the power transfer work?" Pyrrha asked.

"Through a series of convoluted and stupid rules," Qrow bluntly answered.

"Qrow…" Goodwitch scolded.

"Hey, I'm just telling the truth," the drunkard spoke. "Don't get mad at me." Math raised an eyebrow.

"What rules exactly?" he questioned.

"For years, all we knew was that when the previous Maiden dies, her power would go to a young woman. In time, we discovered that the transfer process was much more…intimate."

"Intimate?" Pyrrha asked, still following behind her.

"At first, all we knew was the power of the Maidens would go to young women upon the death of its host," Goodwitch continued to explain. "Later, we found out that instead of just choosing a random host, the power would always go to the person who was last in their thoughts."

"But only if it's a young girl," Qrow informed. "If that person in their thoughts last is dead, a dude, or some old hag, THEN the powers go to someone completely random…and our job gets a lot harder."

"Why are you telling us this now?" Pyrrha asked, still somewhat nervous, a contrast to the usual self-confident woman Math loved. "Why not wait until after we've graduated?"

"That was the original plan, but we've run out of time," Ironwood answered.

"We've a real problem on our hands," Qrow added. "One of the Maidens was attacked. We've dealt with these kinds of situations before, but this one…is real interesting."

"How interesting?" Math asked, still suspicious.

"Look, kid, I know you've got questions, but we're telling what you need to know," Qrow responded, sensing the young man's distrust and suspicion. "We'll fill you in on the rest when we know you're with us."

That answer didn't soothe Math's nerves at all. Ozpin kept him and his team in the dark about the Iron Knights being up north, only being told after they had departed Beacon. This was feeling like a repeat of that; they wouldn't tell them of the grave risks until they couldn't turn back.

Suddenly, Ozpin stopped. In front of them were two capsules with a terminal keyboard. One capsule was empty, but the other…had a young woman with tanned skin, shoulder-length brown hair and was only wearing a white tube top and white shorts. Her face seemed nearly mutilated in a way, as if something had drained her.

"Who is that?" Math asked.

"Amber…the Fall Maiden," Ozpin answered. Pyrrha broke away from Math's grip and looked closer at the girl in the capsule.

"She's alive," she deduced.

"For now," Ironwood replied grimly. "We're keeping state-of-the-art Atlesian technology to keep her stable. But this won't last for much longer."

"How long has she got?" Math asked.

"We're unsure," Ironwood answered.

"You said this situation was…interesting," Math brought up. "What do you mean by that?"

"What we mean by that is we've never seen anything like this before," Ozpin informed. "When Amber was attacked, half of her power was stolen. How it was stolen, we haven't the faintest idea. Luckily, Qrow was able to intervene before all of her power could be stolen."

"Half of her power…was stolen?" Pyrrha asked for clarification.

"Yes," Goodwitch answered. "Amber is alive now, but she may not have much longer. We don't know what'll happen if or when she passes."

"Shouldn't the power move onto the next host?" Pyrrha questioned.

"Look who's been listening," Qrow spoke out before whispering to Ozpin "She is smart."

"That's what we're thinking, but with the situation as it is, we're not entirely sure," Ironwood answered. "For all we know, if Amber does die, her power will seek out its other half."

"Her assailant," Pyrrha deduced.

"Yes," Ozpin answered before turning to Pyrrha. "We brought you down here…because we need you to become the next Fall Maiden."

Pyrrha and Math's eyes widened for a moment before having different reactions. Math still retained his suspicious scowl, but more angry, while Pyrrha walked up to the capsule and touched the glass.

"Are Forest and Glaucus a part of this?" Math asked, barely managing to hide his anger.

"Technically, yes," Ozpin responded. "I asked Glaucus for help after he graduated Beacon. Then, he asked Forest and his team after their graduation. However, Forest started becoming uncooperative. He didn't agree with many of the ways we did things, so he ultimately left, though he still fights. Glaucus remains a part of our group, luckily."

"If Glaucus is a part of this, then why isn't he here?" the swordsman questioned. Ozpin simply replied "He couldn't make it." Now Math was getting even more suspicious.

"Why are you telling us this?" Pyrrha asked everyone. "If this is so important, then why not tell everyone?"

"Fairy tales come from somewhere," Qrow answered before drinking from his flask.

"Meaning?" Math asked.

"For a long time, Maidens were publicly known," Ozpin informed. "However, this made them targets for individuals who wanted to steal their power."

"And those kinds of people weren't the ones you'd want to have 'unimaginable power'," Qrow added.

"So this brotherhood removed them from the public eye and allowed them to fade into legend," Ironwood continued. "What we are telling you goes against centuries of history, religion…no one would want to believe us."

"It would cause a panic or uproar," Ozpin informed. "We all know what that would bring clawing into our kingdoms' walls."

"Do you know who this assailant is working for?" Math asked.

"Kid, we said we'd fill you in once we knew you were with us," Qrow repeated. Before he could speak again, Pyrrha spoke "I'll do it. I will become your Fall Maiden." Everyone looked at her with surprise and shock, especially from Math.

"Are you serious about this?' he asked her.

"If it means keeping people safe, then yes," she firmly replied. She was unexpectedly met with silence from the professors, making her confused.

"That's what you wanted, right?" she asked Ozpin.

"Yes, it is," he admitted. "But given Amber's condition, you won't be able to inherit her power naturally. Luckily, General Ironwood possibly has a solution."

"In Atlas, we've been studying Aura from a more scientific view," the General informed. "How it works, how it can be contained. We've made certain strides towards it…and we believe we've discovered a way to capture it."

"Capture it and cram it into something else," Qrow added. "Or in your case…" The two students gasped at what was just said. They were going to take Amber's life force and stuff it into Pyrrha; they were messing with the lives of two young women.

"That's-" Pyrrha tried to say.

"Classified." Ironwood interrupted.

"Wrong." Math firmly responded. "You cannot be serious about this."

"Trust me, Mr. Kendrick, the feeling is mutual," Goodwitch agreed. "But desperate times call for desperate measures."

"These are indeed desperate times," the Atlesian General agreed. "We cannot give you Amber's powers, but we can give you what those powers are bound to."

"Her Aura," Math spoke.

"Her life would become intertwined with yours," Ozpin added. "But the question is-"

"What will that do to you?" Qrow finished. Both of the students had different expressions. Pyrrha's was one of uncertainty and fear while Math's was one of anger barely being controlled.

"What are you not telling us?" he questioned.

"We told you-" Qrow tried to say.

"And I'm telling you, you kept us in the dark about our mission," Math called out. "You knew Iron Knights were up there and you didn't say a word. We didn't know anything until after we left. You said they were just 'disturbances'."

"I did not lie to you, if that's what you're implying," Ozpin sternly responded.

"Well, you didn't tell us everything," the swordsman claimed. "So forgive me if I have reasons to believe you're hiding something from us, something we need to know. Do you even know if this machine could work?"

There was silence from the professors, doing nothing to assure Math's suspicions. His scowl was becoming one of anger he could barely control.

"You're asking Pyrrha to put her life on the line for whatever's going on," Math pointed out. "You're demanding that she sacrifice everything for you; we deserve a proper explanation instead of just-"

"Knock it off, kid," Qrow interrupted. "We wouldn't be asking this of your girlfriend if we had any other choice."

"Would it even work?" Math challenged. The Headmaster sighed before giving an answer.

"This is untested. We don't know what could happen." Pyrrha's eyes widened in horror at this confession. They had no idea if the machine would work, if it would transfer Amber's Aura to her without damaging her psyche or body.

"You don't know what will happen?" Pyrrha asked, finally joining Math inbeing suspicious.

"No, we don't," Ironwood admitted. "But if there's any chance of preventing the assailant from getting the rest of the Fall Maiden's power, we must take it."

"We?" Math asked. "You're asking Pyrrha to go in that machine, to risk everything-"

"That's enough, Mr. Kendrick," Ozpin sternly told. "You will know your place." Math glared at the Headmaster; to Ozpin, it felt like he was making eye contact with Forest Kotka.

"If you only need me for the Maiden's power, then why did you invite Math?" the Amazon asked her Headmaster, breaking the tension between him and her beloved.

"Mr. Kendrick, we need you to be Pyrrha's guardian," the Headmaster informed. "Until Ms. Nikos makes her decision, there is a slight chance of the assailant discovering we asked her to take the rest of the Fall Maiden's power and her life will be in danger."

"And if she refuses?" the autistic swordsman asked. They were met with no reply from Ozpin or any of the professors. For all they knew, they might as well force Pyrrha to become the Fall Maiden. They'd never force something so horrendous on a young woman…would they?

"You have a very difficult choice ahead of you, Ms. Nikos," the Beacon Headmaster informed. "I'd advise you to take time to consider your decision. But before the Vytal Festival ends…we will need your answer."

"But the Festival ends in a week!" Math called out.

"That's enough!" Ironwood scolded. "You don't understand the situation, Mr. Kendrick. If the Fall Maiden's power falls into the wrong hands, then the consequences will be disastrous for all of humanity."

Pyrrha turned her attention to Amber, looking at her through the glass. She contemplated her decision as she looked. She was being asked to risk everything she loved, everything she had worked for, for an experiment that could ultimately fail and result in both her death and Amber's. However, her pure heart and righteous soul could see the consequences of if she refused; the assailant could unleash hell on Remnant, which could cause untold damage and destruction.

"The enemy have made their first move," Ozpin informed. "It won't be long before they make their next."

-0-

Glaucus was sitting at a table near the fair grounds, smoking a pipe. He had been waiting to hear from Ozpin about the meeting with Mathdon and Pyrrha. He checked his scroll every now and then, but found nothing.

"Hey," a voice called out. Glaucus looked up to see Ruby Rose and smiled.

"Hello," he greeted. "How are you?"

"Doing good," the scythe user answered. "How've you been since that fight in the courtyard?"

"I've been doing fine," Glaucus responded. "I'm just waiting for a message. How's Math?"

"He got called into Ozpin's office earlier after the last Doubles' Round," she answered.

Glaucus felt his temper start to rise, but hid it. Had Ozpin purposely cut him out of the meeting with him? However, he couldn't jump to conclusions since it involved both him and Pyrrha.

"What about Ms. Nikos?" he asked, hiding his anger with a pleasant façade. "If she doing well? I know she and Math were dating."

"Well, she was called into Ozpin's office too," she revealed.

Glaucus accidentally activated his Semblance, melting his pipe with extreme heat from his hand. They HAD cut him out of the meeting. They knew he's tell t hem the truth and they purposely cut him out. Now he was ticked.

"Excuse me, please," he told Ruby. "I need to go have a word with Ozpin." He picked up his staff and walked away. Almost immediately, his pleasant façade melted to one of contained anger.

 **Author's Notes: Christmas is just around the corner! I wish you all a Merry. Christmas and a Happy New Year!**


	15. A Group Divided

**RWBY: MRRN**

 **Volume 3, Chapter 15: A Group Divided**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

Blake looked out the window as Ruo sat in the tree visible from their dorm. He sat there, just resting; she couldn't make out the expression on his face. However, given what had been happening, she deduced it was either one of regret or sadness. He rested his head on the branch, laying nearly identical to an actual tiger. Just then, the door swooshed open.

"Hey, Blake," Ruby greeted as she was followed by Yang and Weiss.

"Hey, Ruby," she greeted. Her teammates immediately took note of the solemn state their teammate was in.

"What's on your mind?" Yang asked. Blake just looked at Yang, then back out the window and then back at her teammate.

"Why can't you forgive him?" the Cat Faunus ninja asked her yellow-themed teammate. At first, she was confused, but then it rang in her head: Blake was talking about Ruo.

"He was reckless," Weiss reminded. "He ran off-"

"So did I," Blake interrupted. "After you found out I was a Faunus, I ran away. Yet you forgave me." She remembered just how easily Yang and Ruby forgave her for running away and being gone for almost two days.

"This is different, Blake," Yang claimed.

"How?" Blake asked. "Yes, he was reckless and selfish, but he realized his mistake. If you can forgive me, why can't you forgive him?"

"You just ran off because you were scared," Weiss brought up. "Ruo ran off to murder someone. Not only that, he gave himself away. Don't you understand, Blake? He was going to kill someone and he knew better than that."

"Plus, he was practically going against his own advice," Yang stated. "He says how much he hates the White Fang's way of thinking, yet that's exactly how he handled this whole Grant Denim business."

"He was blinded by anger, Yang," Blake defended. "If someone had killed Ruby, wouldn't you have done the same thing? Wouldn't you want revenge against someone who killed someone you love?"

Yang was silent as she thought about what Blake asked. The answer was ultimately yes; if someone had murdered Ruby and the police couldn't do anything about it, she'd probably try to take justice into her own hands. She would make sure they pay for taking her sister away from her.

However, her reasoning for not wanting to talk to Ruo was much deeper; she felt he had abandoned her. Instead of going to anyone for help, he just took off and decided to try and murder the man responsible for his father's death. To know he willingly nearly chose his revenge over her…was almost heartbreaking.

"Don't act like it's easy, Blake," Yang responded.

"I never said it was," Blake assured. "I know you're angry at him and rightfully so, but Ruo realized what he was doing was wrong."

"And he may pay for it," Weiss added. "He gave away his identity to Grant. If he testifies, then Ruo may go to prison for attempted murder. He betrayed our trust."

"Didn't I do the same thing?" the Cat Faunus questioned. "Didn't I betray you when I ran away? You still forgave me and you should do the same for Ruo."

"You didn't leave with the intent of doing something that-" Weiss tried to speak.

"I was a member of the White Fang!" Blake reminded her teammates. "I aided in their violence, which sometimes got people killed! You were willing to forgive me for all that. You were willing to give me a second chance, but you won't do the same for him!?"

Everyone was taken by surprise at Blake's outburst. She had a very valid point; she had taken part in the White Fang's violence. She had aided in their terrorism before she came to Beacon. If anyone else had learned about her criminal past, she most likely would've ended up in cuffs.

Only Yang knew about Ruo's entire past: being forced to join the White Fang, being abused by his mother and ultimately having to kill her. She understood where Blake was coming from, but that still didn't undo the damage in her eyes.

"Blake's right," Ruby spoke. "Even after we learned about her past, we forgave her and accepted her back as our friend. We should do the same for Ruo."

"Then you can," Yang spoke.

"Yang, ALL of us should," the reaper Huntress insisted. "Don't you love him?"

"Of course I do!" the blonde brawler shouted. "But he abandoned me!"

Everyone looked at Yang with a concerned look. In a few moments, Yang realized what she had said in her emotional moment and her eyes widened. She looked down at the floor, not talking for a few moments.

"If this was so important to him, then why didn't he come to us for help?" she asked. "Why did he run off and try to kill him?"

"So that's why," Blake deduced. "It's much more personal for you."

"Of course it is," Yang replied, looking up at her teammate. "He told me all this the day he saw him. I wanted to help him if the VSU couldn't. You can all choose when to forgive Ruo for what he did, but you don't get to decide when I do."

Her three teammates could see perfectly and how deeply Ruo's actions had hurt Yang. Hearing her say 'he abandoned me!' revealed the truth depth of hurt she was feeling. Ruby had to accept that Yang couldn't be convinced today to forgive the man she loved; she needed to do it on her own terms.

"He messed up, that's undeniable," Blake agreed. "But we shouldn't stay angry at him forever." Yang sighed before leaping up to her bed and laying her head on her pillow, contemplating their discussion.

-0-

"That went well," Qrow told with a sarcastic tone as the elevator took him with Ozpin, Goodwitch and Ironwood back to the office.

"Do you think Mr. Kendrick will be a problem?" Ironwood asked. "He didn't seem cooperative."

"It felt like talking to Forest all over again," Qrow commented, not hiding his dislike for their former member. As the elevator opened to Ozpin's office, they were immediately greeted by the sight of a very angry-looking Glaucus. The Beacon Headmaster was the first to enter as he prepared to speak with the Gray Wanderer.

"You had the meeting without me?!" he growled.

"Glaucus, please listen to me," Ozpin pleaded.

"Don't you dare!" Glaucus warned. "You didn't tell them what they needed to know, did you?"

"We told them what they needed to," Ozpin assured. However, Glaucus could immediately tell that the leader of this group was lying.

"Did you tell them about the consequences should Ms. Nikos survive the experiment?" he questioned. "Does she know if she survives, she'll spend the rest of her life running from Salem…if you even told them about her?"

"There was no need," Ironwood claimed. Glaucus looked at him with a scowl of disbelief.

"No need?" he asked angrily. "Of course there was a need to tell them! You're asking Ms. Nikos to sacrifice everything for an experiment that may not work, that could kill her."

"We're perfectly aware of that," Goodwitch responded sternly.

"No, you're not," Glaucus shot back. "If you were aware of the weight of this decision, you would've been completely honest with them."

"Stop acting like you never had a say!" Qrow demanded. "You agreed to this. You agreed to enlisting Math and his team."

"Two things," the older Huntsman replied. "First: I said that if we did the experiment, the person you chose needed to know all of the risks. Second: Yes, I agreed to enlisting Team MRRN, but when they were ready. None of them are ready to handle this kind of task or conflict."

"We don't have a choice anymore!" Ironwood barked. "It's a sacrifice we need to make."

"We?" the Gray Wanderer questioned. "We are not the ones going in that machine, Pyrrha might…unless she refuses. If so, we'll come up with another solution, correct?"

There was a sudden silence in the room, as if a bomb went off. Glaucus looked around to examine the scowls of his colleagues, wondering why they suddenly fell silent.

"We cannot allow the Fall Maiden's power to fall into the wrong hands," Ozpin stated. "No matter the cost." Glaucus and Qrow looked over at Ozpin with shocked expressions.

"Oz, you cannot be serious," the scythe user replied.

"Are you honestly thinking of forcing this on Ms. Nikos?" Glaucus questioned the Beacon Headmaster.

"Letting the Fall Maiden's power fall into her hands is a risk we cannot afford," Ozpin replied grimly. Glaucus and Qrow's eyes widened in shock at this. Was Ozpin serious about forcing this on Pyrrha, who didn't know the full consequences of taking on the Maiden's power?

"You have no right to do this," Glaucus defied.

"We have every right," Ironwood claimed. "You know why we're doing this. Why can't you just trust us?"

"Oh, you're one to preach," Glaucus insulted. "For all your preaching of trust and hating being locked out of the loop, you don't trust anyone but yourself and you have no problem keeping information from others. Ever since you've come here, all you've done is endanger Vale."

"Endanger?" the Atlesian General gasped. "My army is the only thing keeping these people safe!"

"Open your eyes, you idiot!" Qrow barked. "The people of Vale don't feel safe, they feel threatened! They know that you're responsible for Ozpin's position as Headmaster is threatened! We let you in on this, on all of this, and you repay us by stabbing us in the back?"

"You never listened to me!" Ironwood shot back. "All Ozpin did was sit back and do nothing except send your nieces and Team MRRN to fight our enemy when we should've sent soldiers!"

"We shouldn't listen to you because you are as hypocritical as you are useless!" Glaucus growled.

"ENOUGH!" Ozpin shouted, silencing everyone. They all looked at the angered Headmaster, which was a very rare sight, standing from his seat. After he was certain the shouting match would stop, he sat back down and calmed himself.

"Oz, I'm all for supporting you, but forcing this on Pyrrha?" Qrow asked.

"Qrow, we are desperate," Ozpin stated. "If Salem gets the Fall Maiden's power on her side, then she will be one step closer to finding the Relic of Choice."

"As long as she doesn't have your cane, she'll never get to the Vault," Glaucus reminded. "Your cane is the only way to access the Vault. Besides, even if they did, it'd take them ages to find it here at Beacon."

"That doesn't mean we can just let the Fall Maiden's power be at her disposal," the Beacon Headmaster replied. "We have no other choice."

"We do have another choice," Glaucus brought up. "I suggested we ask Forest for help. He'll listen to me."

"It's too much of a risk," Ironwood claimed. "They know him. If he came onto Beacon, they'd probably spot him right away and they'd know we're onto them."

"Forest has his ways of getting around without drawing attention," Glaucus pointed out. "If the assailant is here at Beacon as we feared, then finding her would be easy for him."

"He's made it clear he has no intention of helping us," Ozpin stated. "If we tell him about the Maiden and our plan, he'll be as likely to fight us as much as the assailant."

"Then we only tell him that the assailant may be here," Glaucus insisted. "There are other options besides putting Pyrrha in the machine."

"Any other option we have risks panic and disaster," the Beacon Headmaster pointed out. "Even if we did ask Forest for help, how long would it take for him to track her down? They could be working to a schedule; if they are, then there's no telling of what will happen if they succeed."

"Not everything needs to be your way, Ozpin!" Glaucus called out.

"I never said that," the Beacon Headmaster responded. There was a sudden silence following the exchange of words.

Glaucus shook his head in utter disbelief at Ozpin and Ironwood. They claimed that it was a necessary sacrifice, but they were not the ones going into the machine. They were not ones being asked to sacrifice everything they loved for this conflict.

"It's easy to preach about sacrifices when you're not the one making them," the veteran Huntsman snarled. "If you will not tell Math and Pyrrha the truth, then I will."

"No," Ozpin refused. "I wish it wasn't this way, but we need Ms. Nikos to become the Maiden. Allowing the power to fall into the assailant's hands is too much of a risk. If they knew the whole truth, they may turn away…and we cannot afford that."

"What?" Qrow gasped. "Ozpin, as much as Glaucus and I don't get along, he's right. We cannot force this on her; this is her decision to make, not ours."

"You would rather let the Fall Maiden's power fall into the wrong hands?" Ironwood questioned. "You're going to oppose this just so you can have the high ground?"

"You're always one to say we should take the high ground," Glaucus reminded.

"Well, this needs to be an exception," the Atlesian General replied.

"Does the hypocrisy of this group know no bounds?!" the Gray Wanderer shouted.

"If hate Ozpin so much, why are you still here?" Goodwitch questioned.

"Certainly not out of blind faith," Glaucus responded. "I joined this group because I believed out of all our options, Ozpin was our best chance against Salem. I fought with this group for years, but I never would've thought we'd have the audacity to force something so horrendous on someone so young. For all of our talk of wanting to protect people, Ironwood and Ozpin have no problem putting the lives of others in danger."

"That's enough!" the Beacon Headmaster silenced. "Hate me all you want, but this is our only option. We can only tell Math and Pyrrha if they agree to this."

"Well, I don't agree with it," Glaucus refused. "Before they make their decision, I will tell the truth. You are certainly welcome to try and stop me." With that, the Gray Wanderer left the office and descended the tower in the elevator.

"Cutting Glaucus out of the meeting was a bad idea," Goodwitch stated.

"But he's right about one thing," Qrow admitted. "We can't force this on Pyrrha. Asking her to do it is one thing, but forcing it on her is something else entirely."

"We mustn't let the power fall into Salem's hands," Ironwood stated.

"Yeah, yeah, you said that a hundred times already," Qrow dismissed. "Look, Oz; I've always supported you, but this…you can't be serious." Finally, Ozpin answered "I am."

Those two words shocked Qrow. He had supported Ozpin for years and never thought of him as a morally ambiguous person, thinking he always knew right from wrong. To hear seriously considering forcing this on Pyrrha was something that bothered Qrow, no matter how much he supported him.

"We're desperate," the Beacon Headmaster claimed. "Salem has never been this close to getting the Maiden's power. We cannot let her succeed." Qrow didn't say a word as he walked to the elevator and left the office.

-0-

Math and Pyrrha sat in the vacant dorm of Team MRRN, contemplating what they had been told by the same Headmaster they had looked up to for so long.

The Four Maidens, four young women with immense power, truly existed in Remnant. One of them had been attacked and had half of her power stolen by an unknown assailant. Now, they were asking Pyrrha to take the other half…but doing so may cause unknown effects to the Amazon's psyche and body.

Math was still very suspicious that the group was keeping something important from them. They had no right to demand something like this of them without telling them the entire truth. Why were they keeping them in the dark just like Ozpin did about his mission that got Alan Kura killed?

He looked over to Pyrrha to see an expression of fear and anxiety on her face, one that was usually warm and welcoming. Hoping to comfort her, he wrapped an arm around her, causing her to lay her head on his shoulder.

"Math," she addressed him. "Do you really think Ozpin is hiding something?"

"No doubt," the swordsman answered.

"Was it true what you said?" she asked once more. "That he kept you in the dark about that mission up north?"

"Well, he certainly didn't tell us everything we needed to know," Math responded. "Alan Kura filled us in on our way there, but Ozpin should've told us from the start."

"I don't know what to do," she confessed. "If I say yes, I'll…I may lose you, my friends, my teammates….I'll lose all of you. But if I say no, we could be responsible for those disastrous consequences."

"It wouldn't be our fault," Math denied. "Ozpin has no right to force this on you."

"He wouldn't…would he?" she asked.

"You heard Goodwitch," the autistic leader reminded his beloved. "They're desperate. Desperate people do desperate things. But something's bothering me; if this was such an important meeting, why didn't Glaucus show up? I'm not believing that he simply couldn't make it."

He looked over at Pyrrha and could see how overwhelmed she was with the possible decision of losing her identity…and losing everyone she loved.

Math didn't want to lose her. Besides Ruo and Nasser, she had been one of the greatest people to come into his life. Even after she learned about his Asperger's, she still accepted him and eventually fell in love with him. She had always been one to warmly welcome people and was always intolerant of prejudice against others. The thought of losing her…was unbearable.

"Don't do it," he whispered. Pyrrha looked up at him with a surprised scowl.

"What?" she asked.

"They have no right to ask this of you, especially if they won't tell us the whole truth," Math insisted. "Qrow straight up said 'we'll tell you the rest AFTER you make the decision'."

"But if I don't…people will die," Pyrrha brought up. "If this assailant truly wants to use the Maiden's power for evil, then we cannot let it fall into her hands."

"At what cost?" the swordsman asked in an almost pleading manner as he stood up from the bunk. "Pyrrha, the experiment could kill you."

"I know," the redhead replied. "I don't want to lose you, Math, but I don't want to let someone evil have the Fall Maiden's power."

"If they put you in the machine, they might as well be giving the rest of the powers to the assailant," the swordsman suggested. "Please, don't do this."

Pyrrha could see the silent pleading in the eyes of her beloved. He didn't want to lose the woman he loved and she didn't want to lose him either, but if Ozpin was telling the truth, then they were just a short time away from destruction and disaster.

They came to her for help, saying a lot how much they'd trust her with the Maiden's powers. However, the price of power would probably be a very deep one; she could lose her identity, her friends, her teammates, her beloved…even her life.

She had spent her years in training in isolation due to everyone thinking she was too good for them. Everyone had put her on a pedestal, picturing her as the perfect student, perfect Huntress. She had to be perfect in everyone's eyes.

Then came Mathdon.

He never saw her as a celebrity, only as a person. Even after learning of her status, he still treated her as a friend instead of putting her on a pedestal. The moments they shared together, as friends and in a relationship, were some of the happiest of her life…and it was a life she wanted to share with him as more than his girlfriend.

She had a choice that would impact her life. The first was to refuse becoming the Maiden. If she did, she would be able to live her life as she wanted, with her friends and teammates. Sadly, this would mean the assailant would most likely get the rest of the Maiden's power and unleash so much destruction on innocent people.

If she said yes, then there was a possibility that the Maiden powers could be secured with her. However, the consequences of the experiment were limitless, many of them negative. It could kill Pyrrha and the Maiden powers would go to the assailant. It could change Pyrrha's psyche and she could come out a completely different person, a stranger to those she cared about. To her, losing her identity and friends was far more frightening than accepting the Maiden powers.

"Math, I…" Pyrrha started to speak, but fell silent. A tear ran down her cheek and onto the floor, something that Math caught. He knelt down to her and saw the tears forming in Pyrrha's eyes. The next one that rolled down her cheek, Math gently wiped away with his thumb.

"Take time, Pyrrha," the swordsman insisted. "If they try to force it on you, I will help you. If needed, I'll go to Forest."

"Forest?" Pyrrha asked.

"They said he's not a member of their group anymore, but he's still fighting," Math reminded his girlfriend. "If Ozpin tries to force it on you, I've no doubt Forest would help us."

"Do you trust him?" she asked.

"Completely," the swordsman firmly answered. "He told us everything we needed to know before we went onto that train. He can be trusted." He wrapped his arms around her and brought her into an embrace, feeling her tears wet his shirt, but he didn't care. He was just going to be here for the woman he loved.

-0-

" **The moment you've all been waiting for, the one-on-one Finals!"** Port announced that night as everyone gathered in the Amity Colosseum with eight combatants on the stage.

" **Let us meet our final contestants!"** Port announced. **"This combatant is as beautiful as she is fiery. Trust us when we say you wouldn't like her angry. A brawler, a fist-fighter and hair you don't want to touch, we give you Yang Xiao Long of Beacon!"** Yang cheered and flexed as everyone turned their attention to her.

" **We have a very special combatant among us. Four-time winner of the Mistral Regional Tournament, a star pupil of Beacon Academy and a very accomplished warrior, we give you Pyrrha Nikos of Beacon!"** Pyrrha looked up and waved with a smile on her face.

" **I could describe this combatant in one word: Strong. Other words that come to mind are determined, passionate, and loyal. A true and skilled warrior with the sword, we give you Mathdon Kendrick of Beacon!"** Math waved and cheered at the crowds.

" **This young man came to visit us from Haven. From what we've seen, he is both skilled and intelligent on the battlefield, which he has proven twice. A skilled kick-style martial artist, we give you Mercury Black of Haven!"** Mercury smirked and crossed his arms in a somewhat arrogant manner.

" **This young woman may seem innocent and harmless, but don't let that fool you. She is both powerful and skilled with her infinite amount of blades. We give you Penny Polendina of Atlas!"** Penny nodded her head in acknowledgement.

" **Among us, we have one of Atlas's most accomplished students. A young man of ideals, discipline, and strength, he is as strong as he is smart. We give you Cobalt Cullen of Atlas!"** Cobalt nodded his head in a professional manner.

" **If any one of these 1-on-1 combatants could show us graceful swordsmanship, it's this young man. Courteous, loved by ladies, and skilled with a rapier, we give you D'Artagnan Verte of Haven!"** A swashbuckler tipped his hat as some young ladies went wild with cheers.

" **This young man is the only one who will represent Shade Academy! He is nimble, quick and deadly with his twin scimitars! We give you Alburtu Qaliu of Shade!"** The Vacuo combatant made no acknowledgement or gesture to his introduction.

From a stall, Glaucus watched on TV the Finals. He could see that the anxiety and sense of uncertainty on Pyrrha's face. He had to tell her the truth before her decision was made, but he had to do so without attracting attention.

" **Let us see who our first match will be!"** Oobleck announced as theimages started to rotate, landing on Mercury Black first and then Yang Xiao Long.

" **Mercury Black and Yang Xiao Long is our first Finals match!"** Port announced. **"Will all other contestants leave the stage?"**

"Good luck, Yang," Math told his friend as he walked by. The stage rose up, Yang and Mercury walking towards each other.

Unknown to everyone, this was the beginning of Cinder's plan. This…was the beginning of the end.

 **Author's Notes: I hope you all had a very good Christmas! I certainly did. If you have any constructive criticism you wish to share, then PM me oe weite a review! Enjoy, my fellow writers!**


	16. Setup

**RWBY: MRRN**

 **VOLUME 3, CHAPTER 16: Setup**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

 **Thanks to DarkHero12, I have official ship names for several of my characters.**

 **Mathdon x Pyrrha = Socially Awkward**

 **Robin x Coco = Caffeinated Flirt**

 **Ruo-Jian x Yang = Mommy Issues**

 **Also, thanks to PaladinofArgyle, I have themes for each member of Team MRRN. They're not official songs, they're just titles.**

 **Mathdon Kendrick = Strength Revitalized**

 **Robin Kendrick = Shot of Destiny**

 **Ruo-Jian Bai Hu = Balancing Fates**

 **Nasser Achdarr = Compassion and Greed**

 **Make sure to read Darkhero12's 'SLVR: A Beacon of Hope' and PaladinofArgyle's 'PALDN Volume One'.**

Yang and Mercury stood facing each other, preparing for the very first Finals match. Everyone cheered as the two martial artists took fighting stances and approached.

" **3,"** Port started the countdown. **"2…1…BEGIN!"**

The match went off with Yang and Mercury trading blows with one another. They seemed equally matched, but those who viewed the match carefully could see Yang struggling against Mercury's kicking-style, landing more hits on her than she on him.

"Come on, Yang!" Ruo cheered from the bleachers. When it seemed that Yang knocked Mercury off the stage, he used his weapons to propel himself back on. He then unleashed a flurry of kicks on her before firing several dozen shots from his boots. All them started to spin around in a motion similar to a whirlwind as Mercury kicked Yang to the ground. Right on cue, the shots barraged Yang, leaving everyone to think Mercury was the winner.

However, Yang's Aura was still at 20%. A burst of flame emerged, showing Yang using her Semblance. She rushed up to Mercury, unleashing brutal punch after brutal punch on him before his Aura was depleted.

"Yeah!" Ruo cheered as he watched Yang walk away from Mercury. Suddenly, she stopped. She turned around for a moment and to everyone's shock…she unloaded a round into Mercury's leg.

The entire Colosseum was shocked at this atrocious misconduct. All the Finalists, who were in a separate room for the match, just glared at the screen, not believing what just happened.

"What?" Math gasped. "What…what did she…?"

"I…I don't know," Pyrrha spoke. Atlesian Knights and two soldiers surrounded Yang, pointing their rifles at her. She looked confused and scared, asking the soldiers why they were pointing their guns at her and not Mercury. She looked up at one of the overhead TVs to watch a repeat of what happened.

"But…he attacked me!" Yang claimed.

"That's enough!" one of the soldiers silenced. "Drop your weapons on the ground!" Yang looked over, wide-eyed at the soldier who had given that command.

"I swear, I saw him attack me!" Yang claimed once more.

"Drop your weapons now or we will use deadly force!" the soldier demanded. The blonde brawler looked around, confused at what had just happened. She swore she had seen Mercury attack her, but the video simply showed her being a ruthless sadist.

Left with no choice, Yang deactivated Ember Celica and dropped them on the ground. Two Atlesian Knights approached Yang, one to collect her weapons and the other to put her hands in cuffs.

"You're arresting me?" she gasped. "I saw him-"

"That's a lie!" Emerald shouted as she had rushed to help her teammate. "Mercury didn't do anything wrong! Her temper is out of control!" Yang looked over at Emerald, who glared back at the member of Team RWBY with anger. While medics came in with a stretcher to take Mercury to a hospital, Yang was led away by the Atlesian soldiers.

"Come on!" Ruby insisted to her friends. "We need to find out what happened!" Everyone joined Ruby in leaving the bleachers and going down to follow Ruby to find out what would be done with Yang.

"Let's go," Math told Pyrrha. "We should find out they'll do to her."

"Yes," Pyrrha agreed as the two left the room.

-0-

"She claims that the reason for attacking Mercury was that she attacked him," Ozpin informed Captain Kijivu. The Headmaster was in his office, speaking to a projection of the VSU Captain.

" _Well, that's not possible,"_ Kijivu replied. _"We saw what happened. Ms. Xiao Long attacked people unprovoked before and I believe she'd have no problem doing it again."_

"Hold up," Ironwood replied. "What do you mean 'before'? What happened?" Captain Kijivu pressed a few buttons to reveal paused footage of what appeared to be Yang at an establishment.

" _We were informed by someone that Ms. Xiao Long entered a nightclub months ago,"_ Kijivu explained. _"She proceeded to assault the owner, a Mr. Junior Xiong, and destroy the establishment. Here's the proof we managed to uncover."_ Kijivu played the footage, showing Yang attacking and fighting Junior and his men while sporting a thrill-seeking scowl.

"You cannot be serious," Goodwitch gasped as she watched the footage. After it concluded, the footage minimizes and Kijivu reappeared on the screen.

" _This was before the Paladin Incident,"_ the VSU Captain informed. _"To me, it's seems that her temper is indeed out of control if she thinks it's okay to just walk in somewhere and destroy the place just so she can have a thrill."_

"Captain, with all due respect, I think you're selling Ms. Xiao Long short," Ozpin claimed. "What she did was indeed inexcusable, but you're just painting her with only her negative qualities."

" _Well, it's not my job to see her as a good or bad person,"_ the VSU Captain replied. _"It's my job to keep Vale safe and that includes arresting Huntsmen who think they're above the law. I think Ms. Xiao Long fits that description after everything we've seen."_

"Please, we don't know exactly what happened," Ironwood responded. "For all we know, Ms. Xiao Long was under the effect of stress and adrenaline. We're both soldiers, Captain; we've been there." Kijivu sighed.

" _I've gone over that video many times and Ms. Xiao Long didn't look like she was stressed out,"_ he explained. _"Maybe I am being too hard on Ms. Xiao Long, but I have my reasons to doubt her after everything that's happened."_

"We understand," Ozpin replied.

" _Luckily for her, Mercury's relatives have not pressed any charges, so we cannot arrest her,"_ Kijivu informed.

"Why not?" Qrow asked.

"Because I was placed in charge of security of the Vytal Tournament," Ironwood reminded. "Unless or until Mr. Black's relatives press charges to the VSU, they cannot make a move on her."

" _But if they do, then we will put her behind bars,"_ Kijivu informed in a stern tone.

"Hang on!" Qrow interrupted. "My niece may be a hothead, but she's not some criminal."

" _Look up the Paladin Incident,"_ Kijivu insisted. _"If Mr. Black's relatives press charges, then we will take Ms. Xiao Long into custody. That young woman is far too hot-tempered and volatile to be a Huntress."_ He then hung up, leaving the four Huntsmen to themselves.

"Well, at least he's not making this public," Ironwood exhaled. "If he did, Ms. Xiao Long's reputation would be all but shot."

"I'm honestly inclined to agree with Captain Kijivu," Goodwitch spoke. "If Ms. Xiao Long thinks it's okay to attack people unprovoked and destroy anything she wants, then perhaps she isn't fit to be a Huntress."

"He's only saying those things because he thinks she's nothing but a hot-tempered brat," Qrow defended. "I know Yang and she may be very hotheaded and impulsive, but she's not some ruthless criminal. Why can't he just leave her the hell alone?"

"He's left her alone ever since Ozpin bailed her and her team out of jail," Goodwitch told the scythe user. "Kijivu's job isn't to be liked; it's to uphold the law and keep people safe. He has reasons to believe Team RWBY can be a threat to other peoples' safety."

"Oh, screw that," Qrow dismissed. "They've made mistakes like any other person, but they're not criminals."

"Qrow, in the eyes of the VSU, they are," Ozpin told the scythe user. "It'll be a while before your nieces are in their good graces, especially if we cannot prove that what happened out there was an accident."

"Speaking of which, where are you holding Yang?" Qrow questioned the Atlesian General.

"I put her on a transport back to Beacon," Ironwood answered. "She won't be released until I order my soldiers too."

"Are you joking?" Qrow asked in disbelief. "She's just a kid. You can't keep her locked up-"

"In the eyes of the world, she ruthlessly attacked a defenseless student," Ironwood interrupted. "It's my job to take care of this, to find out how and why this happened. Hopefully, we can get it cleared up before Mr. Black's relatives press charges. If they do that, your niece will be turned over to the VSU."

Qrow didn't like this at all. He knew his niece, the daughter of one of his best friends, was hotheaded and impulsive, but she wasn't someone who enjoyed brutally maiming people. It didn't make any sense to him on why she would just randomly attack a helpless kid.

"I will address this issue with her," Ironwood assured. "If you'll excuse me, I'll head over to their dorm."

-0-

"But he attacked me!" Yang claimed once more from the transport she was in. All of her friends and teammates were outside, trying to get in, but the Atlesian soldiers refused to budge.

"Let her go!" Ruby shouted. "Yang would never do something like this!"

"Then maybe you weren't watching the match!" one of the soldiers called out. "That girl maimed that kid!"

"Dammit, let her go!" Ruo growled. "You didn't even give her a chance to explain what happened! You don't know her!"

"Shut up, you piece of Faunus filth!" another soldier silenced. "She attacked him, plain and simple! Now get out of here!"

"You can't keep her locked up like this!" Weiss insisted. "She's still a minor."

"Get out of here now," one of the soldiers demanded as he activated the Atlesian Knights, ordering them to point their rifles at the students.

"Stand down!" Ironwood commanded. "That's an order to both parties!"

"Sir!" the soldier complied, turning the Atlesian Knights off.

"Bring Ms. Xiao Long and her teammates to their dorm," Ironwood commanded. "We will discuss what happened there." One of the soldiers entered the transport and brought Yang out, still in cuffs.

"What about my weapons?" Yang asked.

"That's up to the General to decide," the soldier informed. "Now let's go." As everyone started walking with Yang to the dorm, Ruby stopped them.

"Hey, guys, you mind just letting Weiss, Blake and I go?" she asked them. "We don't know what happened and…"

"We understand," Jaune responded. "We hope it goes well." Ruby, Weiss and Blake went on with Yang while everyone else went back to their own dorms.

-0-

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Ironwood questioned Yang in their dorm.

"But he attacked me!" Yang yet again claimed.

"Video footage and millions of viewers say otherwise," the General responded.

"But Yang would never do that!" Ruby claimed. "She may be a hothead, but she's not ruthless."

"Maybe she's not ruthless," Ironwood spoke. "But she does have a temper…and she has attacked people unprovoked before."

"What are you talking about?" Blake asked.

"I'm talking about the nightclub," the General informed, making Yang's eyes widen.

"Nightclub?" Ruby questioned, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"The VSU recently found out that Ms. Xiao Long had entered a nightclub before she came to Beacon," the Atlesian General started. "From the footage they showed, your teammate harassed and attacked the owner and then proceeded to destroy the nightclub…unprovoked." He turned his attention to the blonde brawler. "What is your justification for acting like this?"

"I…" Yang started to speak, but fell flat. The truth was that there was no acceptable reason for acting the way she did. Before the fight, Junior had made no attempt of violence, no threats; he only acted that way after she had assaulted him.

"This is the way I see it," Ironwood continued. "Either you were under immense stress and adrenaline, making you see something that just wasn't there…or you're straight up lying and that attack was intentional. Did you mean to attack him, Ms. Xiao Long?"

"I saw him attack me, so I attacked back," Yang answered. Ironwood stopped pacing the room for a minute, looking out the window towards Beacon Tower near the door of the dorm.

"Ms. Xiao Long, whether you like it or not, you have a habit of letting your temper get the better of you," the Atlesian General reminded her. "Whenever you did, you would beat your opponents down, sometimes almost past the point where their Auras couldn't protect them. But the nightclub…that crosses a line. That puts you on grounds to put you behind bars."

"But no one was killed," Yang pointed out.

"That's not the point!" Ironwood barked. "You cannot just go around, doing whatever you want and not expect to be consequences. If you think it's okay to go around, destroy things and hurt people either because you're angry or just looking for a cheap thrill, then maybe you shouldn't be a Huntress."

"Come on!" Weiss shouted. "Yang…is a lot of things, but she's not sadistic or ruthless."

"Well, that's not the way the world sees it," Ironwood explained sternly. "If the footage of the nightclub went public, Ms. Xiao Long's reputation would be shot. You're lucky I'm not your Headmaster; if I was, you would be expelled for such behavior, for such disregard."

"But I wasn't-" Yang tried to speak.

"That's enough!" Ironwood silenced. "Mr. Black is on his way back to Mistral as we speak. Until he lands, he cannot be questioned about what happened. You should know that if his relatives press charges, this will become a VSU matter…meaning you will be arrested, Ms. Xiao Long."

"He attacked me!" Yang claimed once more, almost on the verge of tears. She didn't know what happened, but she swore she saw the martial artist say 'There isn't going to be a next time, blondie" before attacking her. She thought she attacked out of self-defense, but to the world, they saw her sadistically hurt a defenseless student.

"Hopefully, we'll find out what really happened," the Atlas Headmaster responded. "However, I cannot just let this go."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"Team RWBY, for combat misconduct…you're disqualified," Ironwood decreed.

Every member of Team RWBY shared the same look: shock. They never suspected they'd be disqualified from the Vytal Tournament, the event they had prepared so long for. They wanted to speak out against it, but they had nothing to convince Ironwood to change his mind. Any chance of convincing him was gone when he walked out of the dorm and his two Atlesian Knights followed him.

Considering how late it was, the team decided to head for bed since the Finals Rounds had been moved to the day after tomorrow. While everyone else managed to get to sleep rather quickly, Yang couldn't.

She was still trying to process what had happened today. She thought this day couldn't get worse, but it did. The VSU had shown Yang destroying a nightclub completely unprovoked, which had added to Ironwood, and possibly Ozpin's, doubts that Yang was innocent.

How could this have happened? She saw perfectly well Mercury attack her after the match had ended. But everyone else just saw her attack him out of nowhere. Sure, she had a temper, but she wasn't the sadist everyone was painting her as.

Maybe she deserved it. She had always tried to solve her problems with violence. She had a terrible habit of losing her temper when fighting, but she had her limits; she would never beat down a helpless kid.

The worst part was the thought of her teammates' real thoughts on what happened. Sure they said they believed her, but she had no evidence to support her claim. Did they really believe her or deep down, did they think their teammate had hit an all-new low?

Yang felt a tear run down her face as she tried to get to sleep, but ultimately couldn't. Seconds became minutes, minutes became hours and hours…just felt like forever. She couldn't sleep in here.

She got out of her bunk and managed to quietly walk out of the room, all the while making sure no one could hear her. She walked down a few dorms before reaching Team MRRN's.

She extended her hand to knock, but hesitated for a moment. After her outburst towards Ruo for what he had done, she had kept her distance from him. Now, she felt the only way she could get any sleep was if she was with him. She needed comfort, comfort her teammates could not give.

She knocked quietly so that only Ruo could hear, knowing he had the best hearing in Team MRRN. A minute passed before the door opened and Ruo appeared, his expression one of surprise. However, it immediately changed to sympathy when he saw the look on his beloved's face.

"Can I…stay here for the night?" she asked. "I can't sleep in my own dorm."

"Sure," Ruo complied, allowing his girlfriend to enter. She slipped into the bed first, followed by Ruo, who wrapped his arms around her and she snuggles up to his chest.

"I swear I saw him attack me," she whispered, her voice somewhat shaky. "I don't know what happened, why only I saw it. I…"

"Get some sleep, Yang," Ruo told her as he held her close. "I believe you."

That was the comfort Yang needed. She snuggled with her boyfriend before falling asleep, wanting to forget everything that happened today, even if it was just for tonight.

-0-

"Today certainly went well," Cinder spoke in her usual smooth voice as she approached Mercury repairing his legs. "Everyone is convinced that Yang is a ruthless sadist, especially Ozpin and Ironwood, considering the footage we turned over to the VSU."

"That's icing on the cake," Mercury chuckled. "Man, I wish I could see Yang's reaction when that was brought up."

"So what now?" Emerald asked the devil in red. "Pose as Mercury's relatives and press charges?"

"That's not necessary," Cinder replied. "We just have to keep this up for the plan to work. Luckily, I have the perfect match."

"Who?" Mercury asked enthusiastically.

"Pyrrha Nikos and Penny Polendina," Cinder answered. "Emerald, Mercury, I'll need you two to sneak your way into the Amity Colosseum the day after tomorrow. Everyone was told that we went back to Haven, so we have to keep it that way. If any of us are spotted, there's a chance of the plan failing."

"Don't worry," Emerald assured. "With my Semblance, getting back in will be a piece of cake."

"What about the White Fang and the Iron Knights?" the 'injured' martial artist asked. "Have they already been contacted?"

"They have," Cinder informed. "I've already told them the signal to attack. With the White Fang unleashing Grimm into the school and the Iron Knights killing all the students and faculty, Beacon will fall in a single night."

"It will indeed," another voice spoke, belonging to Valkoin Viisaus.

"What do you want, old man?" Emerald asked the wire user.

"Oh, I'm just seeing how you three are doing," he responded. "I am kind like that, after all."

"Save it," Cinder demanded. "Why did Salem send you?"

"To keep you updated on what's going on right now," Valkoin answered.

"What's the update?" Mercury questioned, still working on his legs.

"First off, the Iron Knights are taking care of the Mistrali Huntsmen as we speak," Valkoin started. "Their numbers are dwindling by the day. By the time we begin our attack on Haven, Mistral will be completely defenseless. However, there's been a recent…conflict of interests."

"Meaning?" Cinder asked raising an eyebrow.

"Nachtfel has ordered the Iron Knights in Mistral, Atlas and Vacuo to stand down for now," Valkoin explained. "He wants to avoid unnecessary casualties when the Kingdoms fall under attack. I've already spoken to him about it, but he won't budge. Intimidation and fear don't work on him."

"No, they don't," the ashen-haired woman snarled. "It's admirable, but irritating at the same time."

"Well, he takes his cause very seriously," Valkoin brought up. "While he is a bit uncooperative at times, we cannot just wave off his support. The Iron Knights are too valuable an ally to lose. Luckily, once the Grimm attacks are done, the Knights will get back to doing their jobs."

"What about in Atlas and Vacuo?" Cinder asked.

"Not surprisingly, the Iron Knights are gaining more supporters in Atlas and Mantle," the wire user went on. "Jacques's infamous business tactics and Atlas's discrimination against the poor have all but encouraged more of them to join, especially after Adrian Lapis's death. They are more than excited to destroy Atlas."

"What about the Maidens?" Emerald asked. "Any luck finding them?"

"Tyrian still searches for the Spring Maiden, but has had no luck," he informed. "We haven't been able to locate Summer or Winter either. They're doing a good job staying elusive. Once Beacon is destroyed, Salem wants you three to focus on finding the other Maidens. If we find the Maidens and get to the Relics, victory will be ours. Now if you'll excuse me-"

"You're leaving?" Mercury asked.

"Salem wishes for me to stay with the Iron Knights for now," Valkoin informed Cinder's associate. "Once Beacon is destroyed, I'll lead the effort in finding the Relic. Are you sure your plan stands to succeed? Salem is already impatient considering how our last one failed."

"Failure is not a possibility," Cinder smirked. "Don't you worry; Beacon will be destroyed and we will have the Relic."

"Very well then," the wire user replied. "I'll leave you three to it. Ta." He opened a portal of dark energy and left the three of them by themselves.

Their plan was very close to success. All they had to do was pull several more tricks…and Beacon would be nothing but ruins.


	17. Dark Turn

**RWBY: MRRN**

 **Volume 3, Chapter 17: Dark Turn**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

Ruo woke up at the same time his other teammates did. He expected to still be holding Yang, but instead, he was in his bunk by himself. He looked around to see if she was in the dorm, but found no sign of her.

"What's going on?" Math asked the Faunus.

"Yang…came by last night," he answered. "She needed comfort."

"Well, you guys must've done it real quiet," Robin smirked as he got up, earning a glare from his partner.

"Not like that," he growled. "She just needed me to be there for her."

"Great," Nasser remarked. "She's been ignoring you all this time and only came to you because-"

"Look, I screwed up about Grant," the Faunus interrupted. "She had every right to be mad at me. But this…do you guys really think she just plain attacked him?"

The room was silent. They knew Yang was hotheaded, but she certainly wasn't sadistic. However, they knew that at times, the blonde brawler had let her temper get the better of her in combat, resulting in her violently beating down her opponents.

"I don't know," Math responded honestly. "All I know is that sometimes in the heat of battle, things just happen. Maybe Yang was just stressed out and thought she saw something."

"She sounds pretty genuine about it being real," Ruo responded. "I'm going to go find her, see if she's okay." Ruo shed his pajamas and put on his robe and shoulder guard before leaving to find his girlfriend. He knocked on Team RWBY's dorm, being answered by Ruby.

"Hey," he greeted. "Is Yang here?"

"No," Ruby answered. "She's been gone since this morning."

"She came to my dorm last night," he explained. "I guess this whole situation is really getting to her. I'll let you know if I find her."

"Please do," Weiss replied. "She's already been through enough." Ruo left for the lounge, thinking that maybe Yang went there. His thoughts were confirmed when he heard the television on in the distance, coming from that room. He walked in to see Yang still in her pajamas, watching the news, her eyes glued to the projected screen.

" _What happened last night was truly horrendous! Yang Xiao Long, one of the six students arrested by the VSU months earlier for her part in the Paladin Incident, injured Vytal Tournament combatant Mercury Black in last night's Finals Rounds. Mercury is being taken back to Mistral as we speak, where he will be tended to for his injury. General James Ironwood, Headmaster of Atlas Academy and in charge of security for the Festival, spoke earlier."_

" _I'm not entirely sure what happened. In battle, your judgment can become clouded in an instant. Sometimes, you just see things that simply aren't there. I believe that what happened last night was hopefully the result of stress and adrenaline catching up on Ms. Xiao Long. However, for this misconduct, I have decided to disqualify her from the Tournament. Hopefully, after Mr. Black lands in Mistral, we'll learn more about what happened."_

" _The misconduct from last night has everyone shocked. We've already interviewed several people who were at the Colosseum when it happened."_

" _What happened was shameful! First, she gets dozens of people killed, then she injures a defenseless kid…for fun? She shouldn't be in Beacon Academy, she should be in a cell."_

" _Yang's temper is out of control! How many people is she going to hurt just for a cheap thrill? Who does this # $% & think she is? The VSU should've put her away." _

" _The response to Ms. Xiao Long's attack has been overwhelmingly negative. Many are demanding her expulsion from Beacon for 'an uncontrollable temper-"_ Ruo shut the TV off.

"Don't do this to yourself, Yang," the Faunus insisted.

"I don't know what happened," she repeated, nearly on the verge of tears. "Nobody will believe me."

"Your teammates believe you and so do I," Ruo assured as he sat next to her.

"Blake doesn't," Yang replied. "She said she does, but…before she did, she…" Her sniffling grew louder as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I swear I saw him attack me," she cried, prompting Ruo to reach out and hug Yang in a very tight embrace. She quickly returned it, crying into his shoulder.

"I'm here for you, Yang," the White Tiger gently spoke. His ear twitched when he heard movement at the lounge entrance; standing there was Qrow with a solemn and sympathetic look on his face.

"Hey, kiddo," he greeted, making Yang retract her face from Ruo's shoulder to look at her uncle.

"Hey," she reciprocated, wiping the tears off her face.

"You mind if I talk to you?" the scythe user asked.

"Sure," she responded.

"In private?" he added.

"Why?" she asked.

"There's something I need to talk to you about," Qrow explained. "Something personal. So…do you mind leaving?"

"I'll go," Ruo answered as he stepped up to leave, but Yang grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"No," she stated. "What you can say to me, you can say to him."

"Yang…" Qrow attempted to dissuade, but saw that there was no possibility of doing so in her emotional state. Finally, he conceded as he started the conversation.

-0-

"Do you really believe this?" Nasser asked Octavia while they were walking down the street. "90% of the people talking crap about Yang don't even know her. They're not fighters."

"Well, I don't know Yang like you do," Octavia spoke. "If you think that what happened was an accident, then I'll take your word for it. So how are things back home with Cassim?"

"Mom says he's been disappearing a lot lately," he revealed. "He said he's got a new job and is trying to bring money in. So far, in the past two weeks, we haven't seen any money from him, so I wonder if it's true or not."

"Well, let's hope so," Octavia insisted. "After all-"

"Wait," Nasser stopped her and he quickly took her into an alley. At first, she was blushing very hard since she thought Nasser was going to make out with her…or maybe even more.

"That's Cassim," Nasser pointed out as he looked around the corner to see his older brother exiting a building. He looked up to see the building's name, reading 'Vale 44th Bank'. A man followed Cassim out of the building, clad in a tuxedo and carrying the presence of a shrewd businessman.

"Thank you for your business," the suited man spoke before shaking his hand. "We'll come by to foreclose the apartment tomorrow."

"WHAT?!" Nasser roared, alerting both of them to his presence. "What apartment is being foreclosed?"

" 22 Pigeon's Nest," the businessman answered. "The family living there has been failing to pay the mortgage. We were just informed by this young man."

"You did what?" Nasser growled at his brother. "That's where Mom and Ezther live! If they're evicted, they'll be living on the streets!" The knife user looked over to the businessman with a stern scowl.

"Is he getting any money out of this?" he demanded to know.

"He just started working at our firm, so yes," he informed. Octavia, appearing from the corner, looked with absolute horror on her face at Cassim, who didn't seem fazed by what was happening. Nasser looked over to his brother, a mix of shock, anger and betrayal on his face.

"You bloody traitor!" he roared, barreling over Cassim with his voice alone. "How could you do this to your own family!?"

"I'm doing what's right," Cassim claimed. "They couldn't pay for their home, so we need someone who can pay for it."

"You're throwing your own family out of our home!" the knife user shouted. "If you do this, they have nowhere to go!"

"Unfortunately, sir, what happens to the tenants is not our problem," the businessman replied. "We own the complex, meaning we must make sure our tenants pay for their homes. If not-"

"Hold off on it!" Nasser snarled as he grabbed Cassim by his shirt collar. "I'm going to have a talk with my brother." He dragged Cassim away into the alley where he was met with the scathing eyes of both Nasser and Octavia.

"How could you do this?" he asked Cassim. "I thought you wanted to make things right, to be a part of our family again."

"It's not my fault they couldn't pay for their home," Cassim claimed.

"YES, IT IS!" Nasser roared. "You stole dad's inheritance, leaving us with little money to live on. Everything Mom, Ezther and I have been through…it is all your fault! You abandoned us!"

"The money was mine!" Cassim claimed. "Dad entrusted it to ME. It was mine to do with as I wish."

"How deluded are you?" Octavia shouted. "That money was meant for your family, not just for you!"

"You stay out of this and shut up!" Cassim demanded, making Nasser grab him by his shirt and slam him against the wall.

"Don't you dare talk to her like that!" he snarled. "She's been a friend to this family while you only look out for yourself!"

"Who cares about family anymore?" Cassim asked without remorse. "What does family get us? Nothing. All you are is just something that gets in my way of getting what I deserve."

Nasser couldn't believe what he just heard. Cassim was so selfish that he was going to help evict Nasser, Ezther and their mom from their own home for his own personal gain. Now, not only was he justifying his selfishness, but he was admitting that he saw his family as nothing but a burden.

"You selfish piece of shit!" Nasser growled. "Mom has been able to keep up with the payments because of all the jobs she does."

"That's a lie," Cassim denied. "Your mom can't pay for the home, so we're removing her."

"You have no proof!" Nasser pointed out. Cassim took out a form with the signature 'Ritsika Achdarr' on it. The form admitted that Ritsika couldn't pay for the apartment and agreed to be evicted in forty days, but Nasser could tell immediately that it was a fake. He knew his mother's handwriting too well; it simply wasn't hers.

"You forged the document?" the knife user shouted. "You're lying just to get money?"

"It's the only thing that matters!" Cassim shot back. "Not family, not home, not friends…money is all that matters in the world we live in! Anyone who doesn't believe it is either naive or a fool."

"No, anyone who believes it is selfish beyond words!" Nasser refused. "You're selling out your own family just so you can get more money for yourself! I won't let this happen!"

"How do you plan to stop me?" Cassim challenged. The knife user quickly swiped the document away from his brother and held it away from him.

"Give that back!" he demanded, but Nasser obviously refused.

"I'm getting rid of this paper," Nasser informed. "You're not going to do this to us-"

"You will give me the document," Cassim demanded. "Unless you want me to turn over your teammate to the authorities for attempted murder."

Both Nasser and Octavia froze in terror at what was just said. How could Cassim have known that Ruo tried to kill Grant Denim? Was he really doing this? Was he really blackmailing his own brother?

"What are you talking about?" the knife user questioned. "Nothing happened."

"I was the one who called the police," Cassim revealed. "When they arrived, I saw a hooded figure escape the building. His hood looked as if he had cat ears…and Ezther told me you had a Tiger Faunus teammate. All I'd have to do is go to the police and tell them what I saw."

"You have no proof of this," Nasser pointed out.

"He's a Faunus," Cassim replied, still no remorse in his tone. "They'll be quick to believe me since I was a witness." He extended his hand. "Unless you want your teammate in jail, you will hand me the document."

Nasser looked at his brother in utter disbelief and betrayal. He was betraying his own family just to get more money for himself. To make matters worse, if Nasser stopped him from doing so, Cassim would rat out Ruo-Jian to the authorities.

"You are evil," the knife user growled.

"Oh, Nasser, I am not evil," Cassim denied. "I wanted your help, now you're giving it to me. By doing this, I can return to the lifestyle I want."

"But at the cost of your family?" Octavia questioned.

"They don't matter to me," Cassim spoke dismissively. "Now give me the document or I'll turn your teammate in."

Nasser had a choice of evils ahead of him: sacrifice his family or sacrifice his best friend. Either he would let his family get evicted or let his best friend go to jail. He didn't want to choose, but he had to.

"How about I-?"

A loud noise and sudden burst of flame interrupted everything. The three of them went flying into the street, landing harshly among rocks and scattered bricks. While Nasser and Octavia were hurt by what happened, their Auras prevented them from being too severe.

Cassim, on the other hand, was in much worse shape. It was hard for the hurt Nasser to tell whether he was unconscious or dead. Nasser looked back to see what had happened, what had abruptly ended their conversation.

The first and second floor of the building were in flames. Nasser couldn't hear it due to the ringing in his ears, but people were crying out in pain as they started to be burned alive. One person hurried out of the building, screaming as they were being roasted alive until the lack of oxygen caught up with them and they fell to the ground dead.

"What…?" Nasser wondered as he struggled to get up. "What just…happened?" Finally, he lost consciousness and passed out.

-0-

Pyrrha sat in her dorm, still thinking about the Fall Maiden situation she had been informed of. Ozpin had come to her and asked her to be willing to sacrifice everything so that the Fall Maiden's power wouldn't fall into the wrong hands.

Her sense of morality demanded that she go through with the experiment, telling her that if she refused, the death toll may amount to thousands. But the question asked itself: would it be her fault for the carnage unleashed? Would it be Ozpin's? Would it be the assailant's?

On the other hand, it meant throwing away everything that meant so much to her. She looked around the room, looking at her teammates one by one, people who had become close friends since their team was formed.

Jaune Arc, the goofy, but intelligent leader of their team. He was always ready to greet people with a smile and had come such a long way. She knew of his fake transcripts and had been training with him for months, helping him grow into a skilled fighter.

Nora Valkyrie, the bubbly, hyperactive and talkative member of their team. She was so full of energy, she was never seen sad or down; in fact, when other people were sad, she found a way to cheer them up through her unlimited energy and happiness.

Lie Ren, the quiet and calm ninja of the team. He was always the quiet one, but he was also the one who could any of them could sit down to and talk to about their problems, especially Jaune.

Was the idea of taking the Maiden powers worth sacrificing her identity? Was it worth throwing away all the friends and love she had found?

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Jaune walked over to see Math standing there.

"Hello~" Pyrrha greeted her beloved. "How are you?"

"I'm doing good," Math answered.

"What brings you here?" Jaune asked, holding the door open.

"I just wanted to see Pyrrha for a little bit," Math answered. "I thought you'd probably like to head to the fair grounds?"

"That's not a good idea at the moment," Ren claimed. "You and Pyrrha need to focus. It's up to you two to defend the honor of Beacon Academy."

"The tournament doesn't start until tomorrow night," Math responded. "I think we can afford some time to enjoy ourselves."

"I'd love to," Pyrrha answered as she got up and walked over to her boyfriend. "I'll see you all later."

"If you don't come back tonight, then should we assume the best~?" Nora teased, making both Math and Pyrrha blush madly.

"Nora!" Pyrrha barked. The hammer wielder giggled at their reaction before they closed the door and left for the fairgrounds.

On the way there, Math could tell something was up with his girlfriend. She had been uncharacteristically quiet this entire time. He stopped and turned to face Pyrrha.

"What's wrong?" the swordsman asked. Pyrrha looked away, rubbing her arm for several seconds before looking at her beloved in the eye.

"Can we sit for a minute?" she requested. Math nodded his head and the two walked over to the side of a building to sit down.

"Is this about the Fall Maiden?" the swordsman asked, putting his hand on hers.

"I don't know what to do," she admitted. "Math…do you believe in destiny?" she asked him. That question threw Math around for a loop, making him raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"What do you mean?" he asked her.

"When I think of destiny, I don't think of some predetermined fate you can't escape, but rather some sort of final goal you work for your entire life," Pyrrha explained.

Math was quiet for a few moments, thinking about what Pyrrha had asked. He looked off into the distance a few times before replying 'No.'

"No?" she asked.

"Life is not a single road leading in a clear direction," Math responded. "I thought that way when I entered Aurum. I thought I'd make several friends, enjoy my time and graduate. I didn't, even though I thought it was my goal."

"So you don't believe in it because of what happened?" she questioned.

"I don't believe in it because nothing is set in stone," the autistic swordsman answered. "Why?"

"I always thought that becoming a strong Huntress was my destiny," Pyrrha spoke, standing up. "Now…what if becoming the Fall Maiden is in the way? Or what if it'll make it possible, at the cost of who I am?"

"Don't do it," Math pleaded as he stood up. "You don't deserve to lose everything because Ozpin asks an impossible choice of you."

"Are you saying that because you distrust Ozpin…or is it…because you don't want to lose me?" she asked.

"Of course I don't want to lose you," the swordsman confessed. "You heard what he said. You…" He fell flat for a moment as the thought of losing the woman he loved processed through his mind.

"For Gods' sake, Pyrrha! They said you could die in there! What right do they have to demand something like this from you? From us? I love you, Pyrrha, and I'm scared that if you go in there, I'll lose the woman I fell in love with."

"This is about more than us," Pyrrha spoke out. "What if this assailant really is as evil as they claim? What if it's my refusal to accept the Maiden powers that destroys countless lives?"

"It wouldn't be your fault," the swordsman claimed. "Especially since they won't tell us everything. They're hiding something and they probably won't tell us until AFTER you're in the machine. I am begging you, please don't do this! Don't needlessly throw your life away!"

"Math…" Pyrrha tried to speak, but stopped when she felt two arms hug her from behind.

"Ever since people harassed me for my Asperger's, I felt no one would accept me," the swordsman started, his voice shaky. "When I told you, you didn't look at me as if I was a freak. You still looked at me as a person. You mean so much to me, Pyrrha. I don't want to lose you!"

Pyrrha closed her eyes and turned around to return the embrace. She didn't want to lose Mathdon either. She didn't want to lose their love for each other, the moments they'll share, the conflicts they'll have, or the future they could have together, the future where they were much more than boyfriend and girlfriend. The future…where she could possibly have him as her husband and he have her as his wife.

They looked into each other's eyes; Pyrrha could see the silent pleading in Math's brown eyes and he could see the sincerity and anxiety in her green. It took them a few seconds to realize that their lips were touching before they closed their eyes and held each other.

The redhead backed up as she pulled Math to her; when her back was against the wall, she pulled Math in for another kiss. The swordsman pressed her against the wall and slid his hand down her back reaching her waist. As the kiss became more heated, Math decided to make a bold move and move his hand down to her rear.

She gasped from the touch, making Math stop for a minute as he thought he messed up. Instead, she pulled him back and unbuttoned a few of his shirt buttons, leaving his somewhat hairy chest bared as she rubbed her hands on it.

Math squeezed her rear, earning mewl after mewl from her as he moved his lips to her cheek and shoulder, peppering them with kisses. Suddenly, Pyrrha stopped him and made him look at her in the eye.

"Maybe we should take this to one of our dorms?" she asked with a faint blush on her face.

"Pyrrha, I-"

BOOM! The noise was loud enough to be heard from Beacon. They looked in the direction of the city to see smoke rising.

"What was that?" Pyrrha gasped.

"I don't know," Math replied. "But we should go and find out."

"Wait!" Pyrrha called out. "Your shirt." Math looked down to see some of it still unbuttoned and blushed. After he buttoned it back up, he and Pyrrha hurried to the docks until they ran into Robin.

"Come on!" he called. "We'll take my car."

-0-

Robin drove up to the Vale 44th Bank, now in flames. It was surrounded by ambulances, firefighters and burnt corpses that belonged to people unable to escape alive. They got out of the car and rushed over to find out what had happened.

"Math! Robin!" Gormen called out. The three of them quickly rushed over to the VSU Lieutenant.

"What happened here?" the swordsman questioned.

"The Iron Knights," Gormen answered. "Those bastards put a bomb in there and detonated it. The death toll is…still rising. But there's something you need to know."

"What is it?" Robin asked.

"Your teammate, Nasser, was caught in the explosion," Gormen revealed. "Luckily, he's not gravely injured, but the same cannot be said for a Mr. Cassim Achdarr?"

"Nasser!?" Math and Robin gasped. They ran over to the nearest ambulance to find him with burns on his body, obviously after his Aura was depleted. It had to have been to protect him from the explosion.

"Nasser!" the swordsman shouted.

"He's unconscious," the medic answered, who turned out to be…Grant Denim. "His Aura seem to have protected him from the initial explosion, but everything that…he'll recover."

"T-thanks," Math replied.

"Math!" another voice called, belonging to Forest Kotka. "Are you all right?"

"We're fine," Math answered. "We just got here…but Nasser was caught in the explosion."

"Will he be okay?" Forest asked.

"Well, he's in stable condition, but he did take some injuries," Grant answered. Forest walked up to the unconscious Nasser and held his hands forward. His arms started to shimmer with his green Aura was the injuries on Nasser's body glowed with the same color.

"What's that?" Pyrrha asked.

"Healing," Forest answered. "For the more serious injuries however, it'll simply keep them from bleeding out until his Aura kicks back in. Any other survivors?"

"Several," Grant answered. "We've already have some of them in ambulances. Would you be willing to heal them?"

"Of course," the swordsman answered before turning to Math. "What will you three do?"

"Contact our friends and let them know what happened," Robin answered. "Thanks for helping Nas." Forest smiled and nodded before walking off to help the other survivors.

-0-

"What were you thinking?!" Valkoin scolded Nachtfel. "You were ordered to stand down!"

"The explosion let Vale know we are still here," Nachtfel replied. "They were starting to think we had left. If they know we're still here, then they will have more reason to bring the Huntsmen."

"Perhaps you're forgetting that your involvement is crucial to our plan," Valkoin reminded. "Forest was there. If he's able to track you down, then there's no telling of what could happen."

"Are you that scared of Forest?" Nachtfel questioned.

"I'm not scared, merely cautious," the white-haired man replied. "Forest and his friends don't follow Ozpin's agenda, meaning they're more of a threat to you than he is."

"He won't find us in time," Nachtfel claimed. "The plan is in its final stages."

"That doesn't mean there's room for recklessness," Valkoin sternly informed.

"Perhaps you're forgetting that we're not doing this for your master," Nachtfel reminded. "We're doing this for those we lost at the hands of corruption and hypocrisy. We are not your pawns, so don't think we'll just blindly follow your orders. But as long as you keep your promise of letting us destroy the Huntsmen Academies, then you can count on our support."

"Trust me, Nachtfel; you will have what you were promised," Valkoin assured. "Simply don't endanger our plans."

"Who is your master?" Nachtfel questioned.

"You'll see soon enough," Valkoin answered. "She's very excited to see you in person if you uphold your own word."

"Don't worry," the leader of the Iron Knights answered. "Beacon will be nothing but rubble when we're done…and the entire campus will be painted red."

"Ooh, that sounds scary," the wire user chuckled before activating a portal and leaving.

 **Author's Note: I'm again giving this Fanfics a shoutout!**

 **PALDN Volume One by PaladinofArgyle**

 **SLVR: A Beacon of Hope by DarkHero12**

 **Someone Special (Yang x Male Reader) by SlinkyDog**

 **Make sure to read them and give them your support!**


	18. Love Over Duty

**RWBY: MRRN**

 **VOLUME 3, CHAPTER 18: Love Over Duty**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

After receiving the call from Robin, Ruo, Team RWBY and the rest of JNPR hurried to the hospital to check on Nasser. Ruo arrived at the front desk first, where a receptionist was handling scroll calls.

"Where's Nasser Achdarr?" the Faunus asked. "The one who was caught in the explosion at the bank." The receptionist checked the online records to see if a 'Achdarr, Nasser' had been admitted.

"He's in Room 45A," the receptionist answered.

"Thanks," the Faunus responded before hurrying to find the room, followed by the others.

"Ruo, wait up!" Yang called out as the Faunus rushed way ahead of them. However, the White Tiger didn't stop until he found the room he was looking and swung the door open. Math, Pyrrha and Robin, all sitting down, gasped at this sudden entrance.

"Is he okay?" the Faunus asked as he slowly walked inside the room.

"His Aura prevented him from being fatally injured," Math answered. "Also, Forest used his Aura to heal his injuries until his own regenerates back."

"What happened?" Yang asked as the rest of them flooded in. "What caused the explosion?"

"The Iron Knights," Math answered solemnly, tightening his fist in anger. "The VSU found evidence of bomb parts among the debris."

"How do they know it wasn't the White Fang?" Ruo questioned.

"The place was Faunus-friendly," Math answered. "The White Fang has only targeted businesses that were discriminatory to Faunus. It'd make no sense for them to bomb the place."

"What was Nasser doing there?" Pyrrha wondered before hearing a groan. They all looked at the hospital bed to see Nasser waking up.

"Hey, man," Math greeted. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I only got caught in an explosion," the knife user replied.

"Your Aura stopped the explosion from fatally injuring you," Pyrrha informed. "What were you doing there?"

"I was on my way to see my family with Octavia-" His eyes widened as he remembered his friend being there with him.

"Holy crap…Octavia!" he shouted, rising from his bed. "Is she okay?"

"She'll be fine," Pyrrha assured. "I checked on her earlier. She's stable. Her Aura protected her too."

"What about Cassim?" Jaune asked. "He was caught in the explosion too, right?"

"Who cares about him?" Nasser dismissed as he laid back down, much to the shock of his friends.

"Nasser!" Math called out. "I know you don't trust your brother, but-"

"He was going to put my family on the street!" the knife user cried out. "He forged a document saying that my mom admitted she couldn't pay for the apartment and had agreed to leave."

The shock remained on the faces of his friends, but for a different reason. To hear that his brother was willing to sell out his own family was atrocious. Could Cassim truly be that selfish?

"I was going to tear it up," Nasser continued. "But Cassim knew about Ruo going to Grant Denim. He threatened to turn him over to the police if I destroyed the document."

"Your brother blackmailed you?" Ruby gasped.

"He knew Ruo tried to kill Grant?" Yang gasped.

"He sold out your family for money?" Math asked.

"Are there any pancakes in here?" Nora asked.

"NORA!" everyone shouted at the hammer user, causing her to cower away to a seat.

"Just when I thought Cassim was going to change, he didn't," the green-themed member of MRRN growled. "The entire time, he justified his decisions, acting like he did nothing wrong. I swear, if that explosion hadn't happened, I…" He let out a yell of frustration and anger before slouching back onto his bed. Before any of his friends could speak, Nasser's mom and sister hurried into the room with expressions of worry and shock on their faces.

"Nasser!" Ezther cried as she leapt on the bed and hugged him. "Are you okay?"

"I'll live," he assured.

"What about Cassim?" his little sister asked. "Will he be okay?"

Nasser looked at his sister and mother, thinking about what he'd say next. He was conflicted about telling them the truth, despite wanting to bash Cassim's image for betraying them. He wanted to say so many curse words that would definitely earn him a scolding from his mother. However, before he could answer, a doctor walked into the room.

"Are you Ritsika Achdarr?" the doctor asked.

"Yes," she answered.

"May I speak with you for a minute?" the doctor gestured for them to head out of the room. Ritsika walked out with the doctor and closed the door behind them.

"Do you think something went wrong with Cassim?" Jaune asked Nasser. The knife user wanted to say something bad, but decided against it. After what Cassim tried to pull, he felt he didn't deserve his sympathy, but for his sister's sake, he bit his tongue.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Nasser claimed before hearing a loud "NO!" Everyone looked over at the door, hearing sniffling as Ritsika entered back in.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Nasser asked as his mother sat back down.

"Cassim didn't survive the explosion," she answered solemnly. "His injuries were too severe."

"Mom?" Ezther asked as she jumped off the bed to rush to her mom and hug her. She returned the embrace as she began to cry for the death of her son.

Nasser slowly felt his boiling anger towards his brother be replaced with sympathy for his mother and sister. He wanted to tell them so badly what Cassim was doing there, that he intended to betray them again. But doing so now…he didn't know how they'd react.

"As for Nasser, he'll be free to go by tonight," the doctor informed as he stepped back, hoping some good news would help them.

"What about Octavia?" Nasser asked with worry.

"She'll be fine," the doctor replied. "Her team's already here."

"I'm going to go see her," the knife user insisted as he pulled the blanket off of his legs.

"Are you okay to move around?" Math asked as he quickly rose from his seat to help him.

"I'll be fine," Nasser assured. "Just a bit of pain in my legs, but nothing bad." He slowly walked to the door, moving past the doctor before stopping. Before he could ask, the doctor said "52C". Nasser nodded his head and continued on his way to see Octavia.

"Math, can I speak with you for a minute?" Pyrrha asked her boyfriend.

"Oooh, someone wants some alone time~" Nora and Yang teased. Pyrrha didn't bother to respond; she just grabbed Math's hand and led him out of the room into the hallway, walking away until she felt it was far enough. She then took him around a corner where she hoped no one could see them.

"What is it?" the swordsman asked. Pyrrha blushed a little as she rubbed her arm.

"What happened earlier…" she brought up. Math immediately knew what she was talking about and felt his face heat up.

"When you touched me…did you really want to do it? Or was it…just the moment?"

Math knew to himself how much he wanted Pyrrha: he wanted more from her than just being his girlfriend. However, he had kept this to himself as he had though if he told her, he could ruin their relationship if she didn't feel the same.

"I…" He started, but fell flat.

"Math," Pyrrha addressed in a gentle tone as she reached out and grabbed his hand. "Please. I need to know."

"Pyrrha…I love you," Math stated for the thousandth time in their relationship. "I…I'd be lying if I said…I hadn't thought of wanting that from you. What happened...it wasn't just the moment."

Pyrrha's face turned a more bright red after hearing that answer. She slowly moved closer to her boyfriend, a warm smile on her face. She looked her boyfriend in the eye, her green meeting his brown.

"Math…it wasn't the moment for me either," she admitted. "I love you…I…I love you too much." A tear started to fall down her cheek, which Math wiped away with his thumb.

"I can't do it," she tearfully confessed as she hugged Math tightly. "I can't do it."

"You mean…the Maiden's powers?" the swordsman asked as he returned the embrace and felt a tear run onto his shirt.

"I can't," the Amazon cried. "I love you too much. You mean too much to me."

Pyrrha had come to realize and accept how much she loved Math, her friends, her future. While she wasn't completely sure in her decision, she knew that she simply had too much to lose to give her life up for Ozpin after everything she had learned about him.

Still, her conscience was biting at her. It was telling her that she was possibly making the wrong decision in choosing her love and friends over taking the Maiden's power. It begged her: was her love and friends worth rejecting the chance to take the Maiden's power? Would she be neglecting her duty as a Huntress if she refused?

As Math held her closer and with him admitting that their moment of passion was something they had both been wanting, she felt her heart trump over her reason. The urge to still accept the Fall Maiden's power was there, but it was dwindling with every moment she embraced the man she loved. The moment made her say the next words impulsively.

"When we're of age…I want you to make love to me."

Math's eyes widened as he pulled away. He was wondering if he had simply misheard her and something else had been said. However, the expression on Pyrrha's face convinced him that she had not misspoken.

"Will you do it?" she asked him.

Despite knowing how much he wanted her, he was hesitant to answer. She was in a bit of an emotional state right now, sensing that she said that in the heat of the moment. But he could also sense that it was genuine and not something she would just randomly say. He didn't know if he could take it seriously, but Pyrrha's expression had too much emotion for it to be fake.

"Yes," he answered. Pyrrha smiled and brought his lips to hers.

"For now, we keep this between us?" the swordsman asked.

"Definitely," Pyrrha agreed. "Gods know how much teasing we'll get from Yang, Nora and Robin."

"We should probably check on Nasser, make sure he's okay," Math suggested. Pyrrha nodded her head in agreement and the two walked away, holding hands.

-0-

Nasser reached the room where Octavia was. As suspected, her teammates, Nebula, Dew and Gwen were there. Octavia seemed to be fine, but whether she was asleep or unconscious was unclear to him.

"How is she doing?" Nasser asked. All three of them turned to face him. Nebula and Gwen smiled warmly at him, but Dew retained a more hostile scowl as usual. The spear user got up and stomped over to Nasser.

"Did you do this to her?" she demanded to know.

"What?" Nasser gasped. "Dew, I didn't know the building was going to explode! Why are you blaming me?"

"Dew, leave him alone," Nebula demanded.

"If she wasn't there with you, then she wouldn't have been hurt," the spear wielder went on. "You're nothing but bad news."

"You're nothing but a bitch!" Nasser roared, shocking the spear user. Octavia, was asleep, woke up immediately after hearing Nasser's outburst.

"Ever since you've come here, all you've done is give me the stink eye and act like I'm nothing but bad news for everyone! Maybe I'm not the nicest person around, but I don't deserve all the crap you've been giving me! Now, because you hate me so much, you just wildly accuse me of hurting your teammate! Give me a break!"

The whole room was quiet after his outburst. He had enough of Dew always thinking very poorly of him for apparently no reason other than being a guy. Before a shouting match could ensue, Nebula got out of her seat and stood between the two of them.

"Knock it off!" she demanded. "This is not the place or time to have a shouting match. Nasser is not responsible for what happened to Octavia; that falls on whoever detonated the bomb."

"Guys," Octavia spoke up, grabbing everyone's attention. "Can you excuse Nas and I for a few minutes?" Dew was about to speak out, but Nebula stopped her and led them out of the room, leaving Nasser and Octavia alone.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Could be doing better," Nas answered as he sat down in one of the chairs. "You?"

"My teammates came over immediately after hearing I was in the explosion," Octavia answered. "A few bumps and bruises, but I'll be fine. I know you may not care, but…what about Cassim?"

Nasser still felt his blood boil at hearing that name. Earlier, it was only out of love for his mother and sister that he refrained from revealing his brother's betrayal. Here, she knew perfectly well of what had happened and felt he could speak freely.

"He didn't survive," Nasser answered. "Can't say I'll miss him after he tried to pull. To think he had changed…" He growled in anger at the revelation from earlier.

Cassim had come back to them after losing their father's inheritance money and being homeless for nearly a month. He had claimed to have seen the error of his ways and wanted to make things right with him, Ezther and their mom.

It was all a lie. Cassim never cared about wanting to make things right. He had no intention of making amends with his family. Instead, he remained the same selfish hypocrite who constant justified his decisions without a shred of remorse. He went as far as trying to sell out his family for his own selfish greed.

"Is what he said true?" Octavia asked, snapping Nasser out of his thoughts. "About your teammate? Did he…?"

"It's complicated," Nasser responded. "He made a bad mistake and he's been paying for it."

"I won't tell anyone," Octavia assured with a smile. "Give me a hug." Nasser raised his eyebrow in confusion at his friend's request.

"Hug?" he asked.

"Yes, a hug," Octavia repeated, opening her arms. Nasser gulped a bit nervously before standing up and embracing her in a tight hug. It lasted for several moments until he started to pull away. To his surprise, Octavia pulled him back and planted her lips on his.

His eyes widened in shock at this, but soon closed them and melted into it. After a few more moments, he pulled away from her and looked at her face. She was blushing and looking at Nasser as she hadn't before.

"Octavia…what was that?" he asked nervously. He heard Octavia giggle, making him look over at her.

"How is it you're fearless on the battlefield, but nervous when it comes to a single kiss?" she teased. "It means I like you as more than a friend."

Nasser looked over at the redhead with a nervous expression, completely out of character for him. All the Grimm, encounters with the Iron Knights, and dealing with the antics of his friends had never made him nervous in any way. Suddenly, a single kiss from the girl he cared about had turned him into a nervous wreck.

"Does that mean…we're dating?" he asked, messing with his ponytail. Octavia smiled at the awkwardness of the usual somewhat arrogant yet good-hearted Nasser Achdarr.

"If you want," she replied. Nasser looked over at Octavia, who had a teasing smile on her face. He slowly came back to her and kissed her again, his arm touching hers as her other ran through his black hair.

"I knew it!" a voice cried, causing Nasser to jump. He looked back at the entrance of the room to see Robin and Nora at the door.

"You do like her, you big softy!" Nora teased. "Nasser and Octavia, sitting in a tree-"

"Robin and Nora, leaving this room, hoping they don't K-I-L-L-E-D!" Nasser threatened. Robin and Nora looked at each other for a moment before leaving.

"Twits," he snarled as he sat back down with Octavia.

"Does your family know about Cassim?" the redhead asked.

"No," Nasser answered. "We were told of his death before I could tell them. They were crying."

"Do you plan on telling them?" Octavia asked again.

"I…I want to tell them, but I need to wait at the least," Nasser replied. "I just hope they believe me. They both knew I wasn't being trusting towards him from the start."

"I'm sure they will," the redhead assured as she reached out and took his hand in hers.

The two of them just looked each other, their eyes showing their true feelings for each other, feelings they hadn't shared since they had reunited. After all this time, they had become more than friends, which they both wanted.

-0-

The next day came around rather quickly and the Vytal Tournament was ready to proceed that night. Ironwood had called the six finalists to one of the classrooms to address some things on his mind.

"Thank you all for coming," the Atlesian Headmaster greeted. "I wanted to speak with you all before the Tournament resumed tonight."

"What is it?" Cobalt asked, sitting next to Penny.

"As you know, Ms. Xiao Long has been disqualified and Mr. Black is unable to continue with the Tournament due to his injury," he started. "We still don't know what exactly happened, but I ask you all to please be courteous to Ms. Xiao Long. I strongly believe that she was under the effects of stress and adrenaline and what happened was not intentional."

"With respect, General, Ms. Xiao Long's temper is out of control," Cobalt suggested. "She is one of those responsible for the Paladin Incident which got 19 people killed and 54 in the hospital."

"What is your point, Mr. Cullen?" the General asked.

"I think Ms. Xiao Long needs to be arrested for good," the Atlesian student suggested. Math and Pyrrha looked over at him with shock and anger; the autistic leader of MRRN rose from his seat with his fists clenched.

"Look, what Yang and her teammates did was stupid that night, but they're not monsters," he defended. "Don't paint her as some ruthless sociopath as everyone else has."

"Mr. Kendrick," Ironwood sternly addressed. The swordsman looked at the General before sighing and sitting down next to his girlfriend.

"Mr. Cullen, Ms. Xiao Long's mistakes are not why I asked everyone to come here. I asked you to come here to inform you that the Finals will restart tonight. However, if you feel that you are overly stressed and cannot focus properly, then do not be afraid to call the match. We can redo the match another time when you're rested. We do not want a repeat of that night, so make sure you are in good mental health before you enter. If I have reason to believe you are unfit for combat, I will ask you to step aside. Am I understood?"

The students replied "Yes, sir."

"Very well," Ironwood concluded. "You may all leave. Mr. Kendrick, Ms. Nikos, I'd like a word with you two before you leave." The other four combatants left the classroom while Math and Pyrrha stayed seated. When Ironwood was sure the doors were closed, he approached them.

"Have you made a decision yet?" the General asked Pyrrha.

"I…" she started, but railed off. Math looked at her with concern and put his hand on hers. Even though she said earlier she chose him over the Maiden's powers, she didn't feel ready to give an absolute answer.

"I'm still thinking of it," she answered reluctantly.

"I understand," Ironwood replied. "We are asking a lot of you. But we need a decision before the Festival ends."

"And if she hasn't decided by then?" Math asked with a challenging tone.

"Mr. Kendrick, I know you're suspicious of us after what happened in the north," Ironwood admitted. "You need to trust us. We're doing what is necessary to keep people safe." He turned to face Pyrrha.

"Please carefully consider your decision. You may leave now." The two students left the classroom and started walking to the dorm building, entering Math's.

"Math…can we cuddle?" Pyrrha asked her boyfriend. Math nodded his head and laid down on his bed, allowing to Pyrrha to drape herself on top of him. As she did, she took off the band that held her hair together and let it cascade down. As she laid down, her hair nearly covered up her entire back, almost reaching the back of her knees.

The swordsman then took the remote and turned on the TV, looking to see what was on.

"I hope you don't mind me having my hair like this," Pyrrha told Math.

"Not at all," he replied as he ran his fingers through it. "Wow, it's so silky." She blushed a little before burying her face in his chest.

"That never gets old," Math chuckled. "You always get so red when I compliment you."

"I do not," she claimed as she playfully hit him.

"Oh," he gasped. "That's how it is? I know someone who's very ticklish~"

"Do not," the redhead playfully warned, but to no avail. Math pinned her underneath him and started tickling her. She burst into a fit of laughs and giggles as she tried to get away from Math, but failed.

"Hahahahahaha, Math, stop!" she laughed. "Hahahaha! You're so lucky, hahaha, I don't have my weapons, hahahahaha!"

"Tickle torture!" the swordsman cheered as he continued his merciless onslaught of tickles. Finally, she broke away from him and threw a pillow at him, hitting him in the face.

"I'm sorry!" she apologized. Math recovered from the attack and grabbed the pillow from Robin's bed.

"Prepare yourself!" he shouted in a playful tone. The two swung their pillows at each other, with Math managing to knock Pyrrha back onto his bed. The Amazon cried out in laughter as she was soon left defenseless, left at Math's mercy.

"Do you surrender?" he asked.

"I surrender," she conceded with a giggle before wrapping her legs around Math, knocking him onto the ground and grabbing his pillow.

"Touché," Math complimented before Pyrrha dropped the pillow and lowered her lips to her beloved's. The two embraced and let out more of the love they felt for each other. After a moment, Pyrrha broke away from Math and pulled him off the floor. She grabbed his hands, laid on her back on his bed and pulled him on top of her.

The two of them continued their kissing, until Pyrrha felt something unfamiliar enter her mouth.

Math's tongue. She showed no resistance as her own simply danced with his. Neither of them fought for dominance; they just wanted to enjoy the feel of each other. The kissing went on until the need for oxygen became too much for them and they broke away from each other.

Pyrrha pulled Math on top of her again, this time snuggling her head into his neck. One of her arms wrapped around his neck and the other his back.

"I love you," she whispered. "And I look forward to doing the whole thing with you." Math returned the embrace once again, feeling her skin as they laid there in each other's loving hold.

-0-

"She was hesitant," Ironwood informed Ozpin. "I think…she may choose not to do it."

"Can't blame her," Qrow spoke as he drank from his flask. "Who enjoys the idea of losing your identity?"

"She didn't seem sure about her answer though," Ironwood brought up. "Maybe she's just debating at this point."

"Pyrrha Nikos has a strong sense of responsibility and duty," Ozpin informed. "She is the only one we can truly trust to handle the Fall Maiden's power responsibly."

"But if she refuses?" Qrow asked the Beacon Headmaster. Again, Ozpin was silent.

"Oz, we're not forcing this on her," the scythe user stated. "Asking her to do it is one thing, but-"

"We will only do what is necessary," Ozpin assured.

At this point, Ozpin was becoming very fearful. Salem had never come this close to obtaining the powers of one of the Maidens. The Relic was close to being in her grasp. Even though he had been making alterations to make finding it more difficult for everyone, she was smart.

He was desperate. But could he go through with forcing this on Pyrrha? Perhaps he'd have to do so in order to ensure the Relic's safety.

 **Author's Notes: Make sure to favorite and follow these stories I have been reading!**

 **Team SLVR: A Beacon of Hope by DarkHero12**

 **PALDN Volume One by PaladinofArgyle**

 **Someone Special (Yang x Male Reader) by SlinkyDog**

 **I've noticed some people having trouble finding the poll to vote for your favorite MRRN member. If you wish to vote on the poll, click on my username at the top of the page, go to my Bio, and the poll should be on top. Keep on reading!**


	19. Before the Fall

**RWBY: MRRN**

 **Volume 3, Chapter 19: Before the Fall**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

"Video surveillance showed that the bomber came this way after the explosion," Forest informed Sterling and Ruadh as they walked down the streets. "Unfortunately, his trail was lost."

"But you'll be able to find it?" Ruadh asked.

"Should be able to," Forest responded. "The explosion was recent, so his trail shouldn't be too cold." The three of them arrived at where his trail was lost, prompting Forest to kneel down and inspect the area.

"He was in a hurry to leave, obviously," Forest deduced, inspecting how his boot prints were deeper than previously. "He turned here…into an alleyway. That would take him south…near the shadier parts of Vale."

"Where the law has much less authority," Sterling brought up. "It's easy for Vale's criminals to lose the law in those parts."

Forest continued examining the trail, activating the light on his scroll he found a discarded remote that appeared burned. He felt around it to make sure it was safe to pick up; when he was sure, he grabbed it and held it up.

"Classic bomb control," Forest stated as he examined it. "Atlesian. They must've burned it to make sure no fingerprints were left."

"Hold on," Ruadh said as he examined the controller. "They didn't burn it.; it malfunctioned and burst into flames."

"How can you tell?" Sterling questioned.

"I'm an expert in explosives, remember?" Ruadh cockily reminded his Snow Fox Faunus teammate. "Some detonator controls were made by terrorists in the past to self-combust after the bomb has been detonated, to cover up tracks."

"That's not all," Forest stated as he found pieces of burned cloth. From what he could piece together, it appeared to be part of a glove. He deduced that the bomber wore gloves as he didn't know the detonator would self-explode. It's be safe to assume that he had possible burns on his hand.

"Let's move on," Forest stated as he dropped the useless piece of burned junk. He continued following the trail through the alleyway until it led across the street. The three of them made sure no vehicles were coming before continuing their search.

"Math would be surprised by how well you track," Ruadh brought up.

"When you live in Vacuo, you have to adapt to survive," Forest replied as they went on. He stopped then when he noticed something off about the tracks: one pair went up one way and another the opposite direction.

"He turned around here," Forest believed. "He must've seen law enforcement and feared he'd be recognized." He turned around to keep inspecting the trail, leading up to finding a jacket in the trash with traces of soot on the back.

"He must've gotten rid of this so no one could see the soot," the eagle stated. "He ditched it later than he did his remote. He must've not realized what was on his jacket until moments before he threw it away. He didn't try to burn it like he did the remote, so there must've been too witnesses or he was again in a rush."

"Why would the Iron Knights bomb Vale 44th Bank?" Ruadh asked. "They're not the nicest people, but from what I understand, they do their jobs legitimately."

"The Iron Knights target anyone they deem a source of corruption," Sterling informed his heavily bearded teammate. "The Vale 44th Bank worked as a financial partner to the Schnee Dust Company. Considering how much they hate the SDC, blowing them up was a perfect way of eliminating Jacques's influence in the kingdom."

"That sounds right," Forest agreed. "But also look at this." He picked up a strand of hair from the hood, looking like a faint brown color.

"Has to be a strand from his hair," the eagle insisted. "So we now know that the bomber is brown-haired. That'll narrow down the search."

-0-

" **Welcome back to the Vytal Festival Tournament!"** Port announced. **"We are ready to continue on with our next matches! Let us see who is up next!"**

"Will you be okay?" Math asked Pyrrha as he sat next to her and put his arm around her.

"I'll be fine," she assured with a smile. "Thank you for caring."

"Of course I do," the swordsman responded. "I love you."

"Is that what love looks like?" Penny asked in a naive tone. "If it does, I need to ask Ruby how to find me a boyfriend." Math and Pyrrha raised their eyebrows.

"You are?" he asked bluntly.

"Penny Polendina and I'm combat ready!" she replied cheerfully. "Ruby already told me about you two. You're Mathdon Kendrick and Pyrrha Nikos."

"Yes," the Amazon confirmed, albeit a bit awkwardly. "I didn't know you were friends with Ruby."

"We've been friends ever since that night at the docks," Penny informed.

" **Penny Polendina of Atlas vs. Pyrrha Nikos of Beacon!"** Port announced. Math got up with Pyrrha to walk her to the locker room and get her weapons, making constant note of the unsure expression on her face.

"Talk to me," he stated. Pyrrha looked up at him uncertain before looking down.

"I don't know how I'll tell Professor Ozpin," she admitted. "I don't know I'll tell him I…I'm choosing my team, my friends…you over the Maiden powers. I don't know how he'll react."

"If he tries anything…I'll stop him," the swordsman assured. Pyrrha looked at him as if he was her knight in shining armor, an expression of innocent love and affection for Mathdon.

"I love you," she spoke gently before kissing him in a tight embrace. Math wrapped his arms around her torso, gently lifting her off the ground, causing her to giggle.

"You're the world to me, Mathdon," she spoke with immense love in her voice.

"And you to me," the swordsman responded as he let her down onto her feet. She walked over to her locker to receive her weapons, then smiled at her boyfriend before heading out to the arena. Before she passed the exit, Math rushed up and put his hand on her shoulder.

"If you start feeling stressed out, call the match," the swordsman spoke.

"But Beacon-"

"The honor of Beacon doesn't come before your health," Math interrupted. "If you feel very stressed out, call the match. Please…for me."

Pyrrha looked towards the Arena for a minute, contemplating Math's words. It was up to them to defend Beacon's honor after what happened with Yang and Mercury. She knew that her mind wasn't all there and Math could see it, but she didn't want to stain the honor of her Academy any further than it was.

She then looked back at Math who could see the kind yet stern gaze in his eyes. He was not going to put Beacon's honor ahead of her mental state and convincing him would be near impossible given how much he cared.

"Okay," she assured. "If I feel very stressed, I'll call the match."

"Thanks," Math replied. Pyrrha then walked onto the Arena to face off against Penny.

As Math walked back to the room where the Finalists were staying, he thought about what would happen when or if Pyrrha told Ozpin that she would not take the Fall Maiden's power.

He started to view Ozpin as a rather shady and secretive person who had no problem keeping people in the dark, just as he did to his team and presumably to Pyrrha.

Could he be trusted to respect Pyrrha's wish to turn down the Maiden powers? Or would he try something to get her to take the Maiden powers? What was he hiding?

-0-

"I'm heading to the restroom," Ruby told her friends, excluding Yang and Ruo as they were not present at the Arena.

"I'm going go too," Nasser informed as he got up from his seat and walked with Ruby up the stairs to the hallways.

"Do you think Yang's doing okay?" the knife user asked Ruby as they walked up the stairs.

"Well, she has Ruo for company," she explained. "I think she should be fine." As they walked into the hallway, they saw someone they didn't expect.

"Mercury!?" Ruby gasped as she looked at the smirking martial artist.

"Well, Little Red and the Little Rat," Mercury smirked. "This is a nice surprise."

"How are you even standing?" Nasser demanded to know. "Unless…you son of a bitch! What happened to Yang was a setup!"

"Well, there goes me think you were the dumb one of your team," Mercury insulted. "Sure, it was set up. But no one will believe you. It's not my fault Yang has a bad temper and a bad rep."

"Screw you, asshole!" Nasser shot back. "What are you doing here?"

"Wait a minute…" Ruby thought as she remembered the lineup. "Oh, no."

"Oooh, polarity vs. metal," Mercury informed. "Could turn out very bad."

"What are you talking about?" the knife user snarled. "Tell me or I'll break every bone in your body!"

"Temper, temper," Mercury replied.

"You know, I really hate that smirk of yours," Nasser stated. "Ruby, go find out what's going on. I'll take care of him." He went to reach for Shafarnasr, but the realization hit him; he didn't have them on him, having left them in his locker.

Ruby used her Semblance to rush forward, but to their shock, Mercury was able to stop her with a kick. However, this left him open to a kinetically charged attack from Nasser; he launched like a missile, making contact with Mercury and sending him flying into the wall.

"Go, Ruby!" Nasser told the red hooded girl. "I've got this!" Ruby hurried down the hall to find out what was going on.

Mercury uppercut Nasser and then kicked him square in the jaw, knocking him to the ground. The martial artist ran off to stop Ruby, but Nasser recovered in time ton launch himself into Mercury again; this time, he grabbed Mercury by his arm and threw him into the ground.

"What is going on?" Nasser growled as he took Mercury's leg with both his hands and prepared to break it. As he started to apply pressure, he felt something metallic underneath Mercury's knee.

"Huh?" he gasped as he realized he was holding a metallic prosthetic. Mercury took advantage of this confusion and used his free leg to kick Nasser in his chest, freeing his leg.

"So that's how you're not injured," Nasser guessed. "Yang only shot a prosthetic."

"Man, I really thought you were dumb," Mercury smirked.

"And I knew you were a scumbag," the knife user shot back.

"Whatever," Mercury replied before suddenly disappearing. Nasser looked around, wondering what had just happened. Before he knew what literally hit him, Mercury delivered a powered kick to his head, knocking him against the wall and making him fall unconscious.

"Nice," Emerald complimented.

"That just leaves Ruby," Mercury stated. "Go on. I'll take care of her."

"What about him?" Emerald asked.

"Again, I'll take care of it," the martial artist assured. He then grabbed Nasser by his legs and started to drag him to a nearby maintenance closet while Emerald went back up to her vantage point.

-0-

Ruo sat in the dorm with Yang, a blanket around both of them as they watched the match between Pyrrha and Penny. The Faunus could tell something was off about his girlfriend, most likely from the conversation they had with Qrow.

"Are you okay, Yang?" the White Tiger asked.

"I'm still thinking about what Uncle Qrow said," Yang answered. "Does my mom…really feel that way…?"

"I wish I knew," Ruo spoke, hoping to comfort her. "You saw her on your mission at Mountain Glenn?"

"Yeah," she confirmed. "One of Roman's lackeys nearly got me, but mom…Raven came to save me. I only caught a glimpse of her before she vanished."

"Vanished?" Ruo asked.

"It looked like she walked through a portal or something," the blonde brawler added. "I just don't get it. Why did she leave? Why…" She sighed in frustration.

"Well, your uncle said she was a dangerous woman," Ruo brought up. "Maybe it's for the best you let this go." Yang looked over at him with an expression he didn't completely understand. He couldn't tell if she was angry, upset or understanding.

"I need answers," she responded. "I want to know why she left, why she never tried to contact me. Ruo…this is my mom we're talking about. Maybe she is dangerous, but…I want to find her."

"Just be careful about it," Ruo insisted. "From what Qrow said, her way of thinking is not the same as ours." Yang sighed.

"Ruo, I know you're trying to help me, but I have questions that only she can answer," the sun dragon replied. "I…I need to know." She snuggled up to him so that her head was on his shoulder near his face.

"Thanks for staying," she spoke. "I really needed the company after…what happened."

"Any time," Ruo responded before resting his head on hers. "I think the others are doing fine up there."

"And the positive is that we have this whole room to ourselves," Yang smirked before sitting on his lap. Ruo's face began to redden as he blushed heavily, making his girlfriend giggle.

"You're real cute when you blush," she teased. "I never thought I'd see someone as calm and stoic as you blushing madly."

"Well, I never expected to have a beautiful girlfriend," the White Tiger chuckled. Yang brought her lips to his before pushing him down onto his back, engaging in a passionate liplock. Ruo wrapped his arms around her as he sunk into it, enjoying holding the woman he loved.

Yang went to open his robe, but Ruo quickly pulled it back with a fearful expression on his face. Even though she had seen his maimed body, he still hadn't grown comfortable taking his clothes off around her.

Yang gently put her hand on his to calm him down, his expression starting to soothe. She saw a scar near his neck that wasn't covered by his robe; she lowered her lips down and kissed it, then slipped her free hand back into his clothing. This time, he didn't stop her as his toned chest was freed from his robe.

Yang then went on to undue her jacket buttons one at a time, showing her yellow tube top. When she tossed it aside, Ruo got up to meet her lips with his own. His fingers unintentionally ran through her hair, but Yang did not lash out; instead, she allowed him to keep touching it.

She then pushed his robe off entirely, but as soon as she did, Ruo picked her up and put her on her back before resuming their make out. His lips then moved to her neck, kissing it as she moaned and put her hand on the back of his head.

"Ruo…" she moaned. "Touch me."

"Yang…" he breathed as he retracted his head from her. "I love you, but…are you sure you'd want to-?"

"Yes," she firmly answered as she wrapped her legs around him. Ruo was still a bit hesitant, but he ultimately gave in and continued making out with Yang.

-0-

"He's around here," Forest deduced. "His trail ends here."

"Then we should split up," Sterling suggested. "I'll keep us in contact with my telepathic link."

"That sounds like the best plan for now," the eagle agreed. "We have to assume that our timetable is growing short, so do NOT let him get away."

"We won't," Ruadh assured. "Problem, how will we know him when we see him?"

"All we know is that he's brown-haired and, looking from the cloth, his hand could be burned," Sterling stated. "Odds are, he must've tended to it by now."

"That narrows down the search," the eagle replied. "If any of you see him, warn us first in case he tries to run away." They nodded their heads and went off in separate directions to search for the bomber.

Forest transformed into his eagle form and flew around in the night sky, looking at various opened and clear windows for anyone fitting the description of the bomber based on the evidence they found. The only clues they had were the brown hair strand and parts of a burned glove; it wasn't everything they needed, but it definitely narrowed down the search.

The need to find the bomber was dire in Forest's heart as he believed they were working to a timetable and that it was growing very short for them. They had to discover what the Iron Knights were planning or else the death toll would be very high, knowing how much they loved handling their situations with violence when possible.

" _I think I found him,"_ Sterling informed Forest and Ruadh through his telepathy, _"I see a man leaving an apartment building at 550 21_ _st_ _St. He's brown-haired and has bandages on his hand. And that's not all."_ Everyone could hear the Faunus take several sniffs from the presumed man.

" _He smells of soot. It's him…oh, no. He's seen me. He's making a run for it!"_

" _Keep on him!"_ Forest instructed. _"I'll cut him off!"_ Forest flew in his direction as his teammate gave chase to the Iron Knight bomber. After flying for a few moments, he caught sight of them, the Iron Knight trying to make his way through an alley as Sterling kept on his trail. Forest flew down to the other end of the alleyway, changed back into his human form and punched the Iron Knight as he turned the corner.

"Why did you leave me out of the fun?" Ruadh called as he hurried to them. Forest grabbed the Iron Knight by his collar and put him against the wall.

"I didn't do anything!" he claimed.

"Don't try to lie to us!" Forest warned. "The jacket with soot had a brown hair strand and you're brown-haired. We found burned parts of a glove near the detonator…and you have an injured hand. We know it was you who blew up the bank." The man started to chuckle and smile sadistically.

"Those bastards deserved it," he proudly replied. "They lived off of poor people, making them live on the streets while they rolled around in their wealth!"

"What are you planning?" Forest demanded to know. "Tell me now!"

"You want to know?" he chuckled. "Sit back and watch the show."

"The show?" Ruadh questioned as he raised his axe and pressed against the Knight's throat. "Be specific!"

"By tonight, Beacon will be nothing but ruins," the Knight claimed.

"Forest!" Sterling called. Forest looked over at Beacon to see several ships flying towards the school. Some of them opened and people started to dive from them; they could tell right away they were Iron Knights.

"It's begun!" the Knight laughed before Forest punched him in the face with his gauntlet, knocking him out cold. Sterling then used an Earth Dust arrow to bind his hands behind a lamppost so he couldn't escape.

"We need to get to Beacon now!" Forest stated. Without hesitation, the three of them headed off in the direction of the school while Forest tried to call Ozpin.

-0-

Ruby hurried to reach the announcer room and stop the match. If they had indeed set this up, then Penny was in grave danger. She was about to take out her scroll and call them, but it was shot out of her hand. She looked back to see Mercury catch up with her and then jump in front of the red hooded girl.

"What's going on here?" she shouted. "Why did you frame Yang?"

"Hey, I just do what I'm told," Mercury replied. "And I what I'm told is to not let anyone interfere."

Before Ruby could ask again, Mercury leapt at her and unleashing a flurry of kicks on her. Because of her poor unarmed skills, she couldn't block any of them. She finally ducked and used her Semblance to get away from him.

"Hurry, Emerald!" Mercury told his associate over his comm. "Ruby's getting close. If she stops the match-"

"I got it," Emerald claimed.

In the arena, the fight between Pyrrha and Penny went on, with Penny having an advantage over the seemingly distracted Pyrrha. Math, who was in the room with the Finalists, was starting to feel worried for his girlfriend.

"Call the match, Pyrrha," he whispered. "The honor of Beacon can wait. Call the match."

Penny raised her hands up, preparing to launch her swords at Pyrrha. He could see a rather worried expression on the Amazon's face…and he couldn't take it anymore.

"That's it," he snarled as he pulled out his scroll and dialed Ironwood. "I'm calling this off. She's in no condition to-"

Pyrrha threw her arms to unleash a huge magnetic wave as if she was in immediate danger. The wires attached to Penny's swords suddenly wrapped themselves around her body and, in one horrifying motion they ripped her to pieces.

Everyone in the Colosseum cried in horror at what just happened. Their eyes were widened with shock at the event that just transpired.

"Oh, my…" Math gasped as he dropped his scroll. "Pyrrha?"

"What has she done?" Cobalt shouted. "She murdered that girl!"

"Shut up," Math demanded.

"Shut up?" Cobalt questioned. "She just-"

"I said shut up!" the autistic swordsman demanded.

Just then, Ruby appeared out of the hallway to approach Port and Oobleck…but it was too late. Penny was now in pieces, her metallic body torn by her wires. She fell to her knees in anguish as she gazed at the horrible sight of her friend's mutilated body.

"Penny…" she cried.

Suddenly, all of the TVs in the area changed to the sight of a red screen with a black queen piece. Everyone wondered in fear what was going on before a woman's voice started speaking.

" _This is not a tragedy. This was not an accident."_

"I know that voice," Math growled as he picked up his scroll. "Cinder!"

" _This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children to men who claim to be our guardians. But, in reality…are nothing more than men."_

"Yang, we should get our weapons," Ruo told Yang as he put his robe back on, the only piece of clothing that had been shed. "That's Cinder's voice."

" _Our Academies' headmasters wield more power than most armies…and one was audacious enough to control both. They cling to this power in the name of peace, and yet, what do we have here?"_

Nasser finally woke up and used his Semblance to burst through the door as he overheard Cinder's speech. He hurried to find Ruby, only to see her weeping.

"We were too late," Nasser gasped as he saw the horrid sight of Penny's maimed body.

" _One nation's attempt at a synthetic army, mercilessly torn apart by another's star pupil. What need would Atlas have for soldiers disguised as an innocent little girl? I don't think the Grimm can tell the difference. And what, I ask you, is Ozpin teaching his students?"_

"Ozpin?" Robin wondered.

" _First, a dismemberment, and now this? Huntsmen and Huntresses should carry themselves with honor and mercy, yet I have witnessed neither. Perhaps Ozpin felt as though defeating Atlas in the Tournament would make everyone forget his colossal failure to defend Vale when Grimm invaded its streets. Or when he discreetly sent a team of first-years against war-hardened Iron Knights, the same men who terrorized your city, an act that cost Alan Kura his life."_

"The Iron Knights…are working with her?" Math wondered as he retrieved his weapons.

" _That's right. Ozpin sent two first-year teams against enemies of Vale, the White Fang and the Iron Knights. Perhaps if he had let professionals take care of it, maybe Vale wouldn't have been invaded. Perhaps Alan Kura wouldn't have died a senseless death. Or maybe this was his message to the tyrannical dictator that has occupied an unsuspecting kingdom with armed forces. If you ask me, I have not the slightest clue of who is right and who is wrong."_

"Have you called Ozpin?" Ruadh asked Forest. "This isn't looking good."

"I can't reach him," Forest told his bearded teammate.

" _The existence of peace is fragile. And the leaders of our Kingdoms conduct their business with iron gloves. As someone who hails from Mistral, I can assure you; the situation there is…equally undesirable."_

"What is this?" Safirlas gasped. "What is going on!?"

" _Our Kingdoms are on the brink of war. Yet we, the citizens, are left in the dark. So I ask you: when the first shots are fired, who do you think you can trust?"_

As soon as she finished, the warning siren went off, signaling the approaching of Grimm. Math immediately took out his scroll and contacted all his teammates.

"Get your weapons now!" he commanded. "We're going to have company and it sounds like lots of them are coming!" Loud clinking was heard from above; Math hurried to look up and see a Nevermore pecking down at the forcefield keeping it out of the Colosseum.

Unknown to everyone, many bullheads descended into the Academy. The first to land…Nachtfel greeted the Academy as he leapt out.

"The time has come!" he proclaimed to his Knights. "Destroy this Academy! Do not stop the attack until the Academy is destroyed! Slay them all!"

Cinder, in the distance, smirked sadistically as the Iron Knights and White Fang started to pour into the school, along with releasing Grimm. The sudden cries of innocents flooded the air, possibly breaking the sound barrier.

She looked up to see two Atlas airships destroyed, meaning Roman had been freed by Neo. Everything was going according to plan.

"Your time has come, Ozpin," Cinder spoke gently. "Your students, your Academy, your lieutenants, your precious ideals…they will all be taken from you. When I see your defeated face, I will look upon you and smile."

 **Author's Notes: The Fall of Beacon had begun! (No, Ruo and Yang did not have sex.)**

 **Volume 3 of the MRRN series will be coming to a close soon! Now, we must endure the part where RWBY became a truly darker series in the next chapter!**


	20. The Fall Begins

**RWBY: MRRN**

 **Volume 3, Chapter 20: The Fall Begins**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

The Nevermore broke through the barrier, landing on the arena, pushing Pyrrha and Penny's remains with a strong wind. She was too much in shock to realize what was happening, even being deaf to Math's calls.

"Pyrrha, snap out of it!" the swordsman shouted. The Nevermore flew towards the Amazon, but before it could get anywhere close to her, the swordsman imbued Claiomh Solais with two of his Aura Swords and threw it at the Grimm. It stumbled back from the impact, the sword telekinetically left its body and returned to Math's hand.

"Stay away from her!" he snarled as he stood between them. The Nevermore flew around, preparing to attack Mathdon, who firmly stood his ground. Luckily, a barrage of rocket lockers bombarded onto the Nevermore, nailing it to the ground.

All the students from all the Academies retrieved their weapons, ready for the fight. Suddenly, the Nevermore got back up, but was quickly decapitated by Sage Ayana and Yatsuhashi Daichi.

Math and Ruby walked over to Pyrrha. She looked up at them with immense regret and sorrow at the accidental murder of Penny.

"Ruby…I…" She wept as she held a piece of Penny's cloth in her hands.

"This is not your fault," Math stated. "Cinder is."

"Cinder?" Sun asked.

"The attack on Mercury was a setup!" Nasser informed as he leapt in and retrieved Shafarnasr. "They orchestrated this whole thing."

"They're responsible for this?" Robin asked as he put his quiver on his back. Suddenly, more Griffon Grimm appeared from the top of the Colosseum. Ruby asked Sun for his scroll and used it to get Crescent Rose. Jaune, holding Pyrrha's weapons, walked up to her and held them up.

"They're responsible for this, not you," he assured. "Now it's our job to make sure they don't take anyone else." Pyrrha's saddened expression changed to one of stern determination and took her weapons from Jaune.

As the Grimm started to descend upon them, a shot was fired from Port's blunderbuss, along with Oobleck and his flamethrower.

"You students should leave," Port instructed.

"What?" Ruby gasped. "But-"

"Ruby," Oobleck interrupted. "This day will surely go down in Remnant's history. I want my students to live to tell about it." Though hesitant, the other students poured out of the Colosseum to head for the docks.

-0-

"Where's Ruby?" Yang called Blake and Weiss.

" _We don't know,"_ Blake replied. _"She's not answering her scroll."_ Yang stopped for a minute, worried for the safety of her sister and having no way to contact her. Suddenly, Ruo's own scroll went off, receiving a call from Math.

"I'm on my way to get Huzhao," the White Tiger informed.

" _That's not all,"_ Math spoke. _"What happened to Mercury was a setup! Yang only shot a prosthetic."_

"What?" Yang gasped. "You saw him?"

" _I did,"_ Nasser answered. _"Emerald has some kind of illusion or hallucination Semblance. I saw it myself. That's how you saw Mercury attacking you!"_ Yang's free hand gripped tightly out of anger at Emerald.

She had thought of Emerald as a friend to their group; while a bit distant, she definitely came off as a rather pleasant person. Now knowing that she deliberately helped to set her up made her angrier than she already was.

"If they're behind this, we need to find them," Ruo insisted. "What's the plan, Math?"

" _Nasser and I will take whoever we can to head into Beacon and save as many people as possible,"_ the autistic leader answered. _"Robin, Ruo, I want you two to find Mercury and Emerald."_

"Wait!" Yang called. "Have you seen Ruby? She's not answering her scroll."

" _She's with us,"_ Nasser informed. _"Mercury destroyed her scroll."_

"Thank Gods," Yang breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'll meet Robin at the CCT, then we'll hunt down Mercury and Emerald," Ruo informed his team leader.

" _Alright, I'll meet you there,"_ Robin replied. _"Be careful, you two."_

"You as well," Ruo responded before hanging up before turning to look at his girlfriend. "What will you do, Yang?"

"Find Weiss and Blake," the blonde brawler answered. "Hopefully, I'll meet up with Ruby too."

"Okay, be careful," Ruo told her, then pulled her in for a quick kiss before heading off to find Robin.

-0-

"This is worse than we could've thought," Forest gasped at what was happening. "Both the White Fang and the Iron Knights?"

"That's not all," an older voice spoke, which the threw Huntsmen identified as Glaucus Viisaus.

"Glaucus!" Forest addressed. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," the Gray Wanderer assured. "Nachtfel himself is leading the assault on Beacon. But his lieutenants are trying to cut off reinforcements from arriving…which will also cut off our retreat. I need you three to head there and clear a path for the students and faculty."

"What will you do?" Forest asked Glaucus. The Gray Wanderer grabbed the handle on the top of his staff and unsheathed his sword, infused with Fire Dust.

"I'll go into Beacon and save as many lives as I can," he informed.

"Be careful," Forest told Glaucus. "From what I'm seeing, Beacon will be overrun in hours."

"Then make sure our path is clear," the Gray Wanderer demanded.

"Will do," the eagle assured as he and his teammates turned around to clear the way for everyone's retreat. Glaucus turned his attention to the school under siege and hurried.

-0-

As the students hurried out of the Colosseum and into the airships, several Bullheads flew up to the docks and unleashed more Grimm.

"We've got more Grimm!" Math shouted as he rushed into an Ursa with Dionach and then cut its head off with his sword. A Beowulf followed behind the dead Ursa, but was quickly taken out by a precise arrow from Robin.

A loud boom was heard in the distance, belonging to General Ironwood firing his pistol into a Beowulf's skull. The students hurried over to the Atlesian General, hoping for a status on what was happening.

"General!" Ruby called out. "What's going on?" The reaction on Ironwood's face showed no comfort for any of the students.

"Grimm are crawling all over the city," Ironwood answered. "The White Fang and the Iron Knights have invaded Beacon. And to make matters worse, some vagabond has seized control of my ship."

"The Iron Knights are at Beacon?!" Math gasped.

"Unfortunately," Ironwood confirmed. "They're releasing Grimm into the Academy as we speak. Until we regain command, the skies are out of our control. That's why I need to take it back." He started to walk off to get into his ship at the end of the dock.

"What about us?" Jaune asked. Ironwood stopped and turned around to face the students.

"You have two choices," the General informed. "Defend your Academy and Kingdom…or save yourselves. No one should fault you if you leave." Ironwood walked to his ship and flew off to regain command.

"I'm going to Beacon," Math informed. "If the Iron Knights and the White Fang are invading the school, then there are many students and faculty trapped in there. Anyone who's willing to come with me is welcome."

"Count me in," Nasser informed.

"So you're leading a rescue mission?" Safirlas asked.

"Sounds about right," the swordsman answered.

"Then we're coming," Medeia offered.

"Us too," Copper told him as he and Phillip walked out of the crowd.

"Then the rest of us will focus on defending Beacon," Jaune told them. Math nodded his head as they all got into a ship that would take them to Beacon.

"You're not going with them, Robin?" Sun asked the archer.

"I'm meeting up with Ruo to find Mercury and Emerald," he informed.

As they flew closer to Beacon, they caught sight of Ironwood's ship catching fire and then plummeting from the sky. This caused a new feeling of dread to fall over the students as they headed to Beacon.

"What?" Robin gasped. "How could-?" Suddenly, Ruby headed out of the ship, much to the confusion of the other students.

"Ruby, what are you doing?" Sun called out, but Ruby did not answer as she jumped off the ship and back to the Colosseum.

"I hope she knows what she's doing," the archer wondered.

"We're close now," Math told everyone. "We're landing near the CCT. If any of you want to get out, then do it now." No one voiced their opinion to leave Beacon. He felt a hand slowly touch his; he turned his head to see Pyrrha.

"Be careful," she spoke. "And stay alive…for me."

"Same to you," the swordsman reciprocated just as they landed. Math's group went off to Beacon to rescue as many people as possible while the rest went off to defend it. Robin broke off from the group to find Ruo and begin the search for the three people responsible for this.

-0-

"Come on!" a student shouted. "We need-"

She was silenced with a swift attack of Nachtfel's long blade that went through her torso. Another student charged at him, only to be killed by another attack from the devil warrior.

"Who is this guy?" Cardin called out as he and his team looked at the demon swordsman.

"We've taken care of some of his goons," Russel cockily smirked. "We can take care of him!" He spun forward, but upon impact, he hit only burning dust and ashes. Nachtfel reappeared from above and landed in the middle of Team CRDL.

Cardin rushed forward and slammed his mace into the ground, but missed his target. Nachtfel parried the attacks of Dove and Sky as they closed in on him before knocking Sky's halberd away…and cutting his stomach open.

"Sky!" Russel shouted as their teammate fell dead. "You bastard!" There was no response from Nachtfel.

Cardin let out a shout as he swung his mace at the demon swordsman, who blocked the attack with his sword and thrashed him with his scabbard. Dove and Russel charged at the demon, but were swiftly taken out; Dove was decapitated and Russel's throat was slashed.

By now, Cardin was frightened. In less than a minute, all three of his teammates had been killed by this mysterious warrior. He backed up a few steps before ultimately giving into fear and running away…or tried to.

He felt a sharp pain in his torso; he looked down and shook when he saw the same blood-coated blade running through him. He turned his head around to look at the red eyes of the warrior who had just wiped out his entire team, fear in his pupils.

Nachtfel retracted the blade from Cardin's torso and with one swift strike…the leader of Team CRDL joined his friends in death. Several Atlesian soldiers arrived on the scene to see the dead bodies of four Beacon students.

"Surrender!" one of them shouted as they pointed their rifles at him. Nachtfel didn't move.

"Open fire!" the soldier commanded. They shot at him, but he quickly disintegrated into ashes and reappeared behind them. He decapitated one with a strike of his blade, the next by slashing his stomach open and the last, he grabbed by his throat.

"Who…are…you?" the soldier gasped for air, but Nachtfel's grip was too tight. Just when the soldier thought he'd die of asphyxiation, Nachtfel slammed his head into the wall twice before he died and let his body fall.

"Sir!" an Iron Knight addressed. "The students from the Colosseum are making a counter attack at the CCT!"

"How many?" Nachtfel questioned.

"Several dozen," the Knight answered. "Plus, a team of students is coming back into Beacon. We assume their objective is to rescue as many people as possible. What are your orders?"

"I'll take care of the search party," Nachtfel informed. "Tell Slasher to hold the line to cut off reinforcements. If we're successful, the Huntsmen here will be overwhelmed by our sheer numbers. Anything else I should know?"

"Slasher and Headshot may be in danger," the Knight added. "One of our ships caught sight of three Huntsmen heading to the line to open a path for the Huntsmen to retreat. It's the same three from the mission up north."

"Warn them," Nachtfel ordered. "If that line falls, nothing will stop the Huntsmen and students from escaping."

"Understood, sir," the Knight complied. Nachtfel faced the Knight and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Tonight, we will have what we were promised," he assured.

"One more thing," the Knight added. "The warrior leading the rescue party is the same one from the Vytal Committee." The Knight took off to carry out Nachtfel's orders and warn the Slasher of the incoming Huntsmen. The demon swordsman sheathed his sword and turned into ashes to track down the rescue party.

-0-

" _Glaucus, are you okay?"_ Glynda asked Glaucus over the scroll.

"I'm fine," he assured as he just got through fighting several Iron Knights. "What about you and Qrow? Where are you?"

" _In Vale, fighting off the Grimm,"_ Glynda informed. _"They're swarming the city. How could all of this…huh?"_

"Glynda?" Glaucus called.

" _Something's wrong with the AKs…they're firing at US!"_ Goodwitch informed. Suddenly, her signal was cut out.

"Glynda?" Glaucus called out. "Glynda!"

"There he is!" an Iron Knight shouted, accompanied by several more. "Kill him!" Glaucus twirled his staff to deflect the incoming bullets. He charged forward, thrashing two of the Knights into the ground with his staff; it was followed by activating the Fire Dust in his staff and unleashing a roaring blaze on two more.

"Numbers merely help a battle, not win them," Glaucus commented as he blocked a Knight's sword with his staff and then stabbed him with his own. The Knights attempted to surround him, but he took them out by charging up his Gravity Dust and pushing his staff into the ground, unleashing a violent wave that knocked them all back.

As if right on cue, several Beowulves arrived. Some started to maul the Iron Knights while the rest charged right for Glaucus.

He took down the first one with two strikes of his sword, the second strike decapitating it. The next, he impaled his blade into its stomach and then blasted its head open with a blast of Fire Dust. The next three charged at him from the side, so he switched his Dust to Ice and threw a barrage of ice shards at them, killing them in mere seconds.

"Glaucus!" an Atlesian soldier addressed as he carried one of his wounded comrades. "What is going on? The Atlesian Knights are attacking us instead of the Grimm!"

"That I do not have an answer for," Glaucus replied solemnly. "Are you wounded?"

"A few scratches, but I'll be fine," the soldier answered. "He needs medical attention."

"Then get him out of here," the Gray Wanderer insisted. "The way out of here should be clear soon. Iron Knights are setting up a line to prevent reinforcements from arriving and to cut off our escape. Luckily, I've already sent several Huntsmen to clear the way for everyone."

"Are you sure they'll complete their task?" the soldier asked.

"Completely," Glaucus assured. "Now hurry. Tell whoever you run into to get out as soon as possible. If they're able, send them to help keep our escape route clear."

"Understood," the soldier complied as he headed out.

A Beowulf charged at him from behind, but the Gray Wanderer quickly took it out with a Fire Ball from his staff.

-0-

Pyrrha impaled her javelin into a Raptor's head and threw her shield to bounce off several more. One of them leapt at her, though she managed to recover her hoplon and block the attack before slashing it in half with her xiphos. When she caught a breather, she looked around the battlefield.

Despite the students fighting back bravely, the tide of battle was turning against them. The Grimm and Iron Knights' numbers were becoming too much for them; plus, with the Atlesian Knights hacked and turned against them, it'd only be a matter of time before they were overwhelmed.

She looked back to the school and thought about her beloved, who had taken several fighters on a rescue mission to save as many people from Beacon as possible. As the numbers of their enemies were growing, she was becoming more and more worried about them, praying that they'd make it out alive.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune called out. "Behind you!" She turned around to see an Atlesian Paladin approach and attempt to crush her into the ground, but she dodged in time to miss the attack.

"A Paladin!?" Robin gasped. "You have got to be kidding me!" He activated his Semblance to examine it, but before he could find a weakness, he was pinned to the ground by a Beowulf. He tried to recover, but the Grimm bit his leg and dragged him along the ground, away from his bow. It then threw him against the wall of the CCT and prepared to devour him.

It was suddenly slashed in half, courtesy of Ruo-Jian Bai Hu, who had Sharp Shot in his left hand.

"You okay?" the Faunus asked.

"I'm fine," Robin ensured as he got up. "Math and Nasser have already led the rescue mission."

"Now we need to find Mercury and Emerald and apprehend them," Ruo reminded. Robin activated his Semblance once more, scouting for the three instigators of this massacre.

"Found them!" the archer pointed out. "They're on top of a building over there. It looks Mercury is recording this."

"Recording?" Ruo wondered. "Hopefully, we can get an answer out of him. Now let's go!" The two of them quickly took off to apprehend Mercury and Emerald and, hopefully, find a way to stop this.

Pyrrha knocked two Iron Knights down with her hoplon and slammed another into the ground with her javelin. As another was about to attack her, Ozpin knocked him out with a strike of his cane.

"Professor!" she called out, immediately grabbing the Headmaster's attention.

"They're here," he stated.

"The assailant?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yes," the Headmaster confirmed. "We must do the process or the Maiden powers will fall into her hands."

"I'll help you protect her," Pyrrha responded. The next words she said, she made sure not to say with any hesitance.

"But I won't go in the machine."

Ozpin looked over at her with an expression of surprise on his face, wondering if he had heard her right. She had just turned down the Maiden powers when he was confident that she would accept them.

"Ms. Nikos," he replied. "I understand you're hesitant to do it, but…thousands of lives are at stake. Please, I need you to do this."

"I thought you said I'd have a choice," she responded with a firm tone. "I've thought about the decision, but…I can't do it."

"Why not?" Ozpin asked, his rather collected tone slowly becoming desperate and confused.

"Because…I love them!" Pyrrha proclaimed. "My friends, my teammates…Mathdon. I love them all and I cannot…I cannot do it."

"Ms. Nikos, please!" he pleaded. "The Maiden powers are far too dangerous to let them slip into the assailant's hands. I need you to do this…for all of us, for Remnant."

"What are you not saying?" she questioned. "What didn't you tell us the day you told Math and I about all of this?"

"Ms. Nikos…" Ozpin started, but couldn't finish.

"Professor, I will help you defend Amber, but I will not go in the machine," Pyrrha stated. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too," Ozpin replied. Before Pyrrha could ask, she felt a blunt force to her head, knocking her out.

The Headmaster looked down at the unconscious Amazon in regret and sadness of what he had just did. He was so confident that she would accept the Maiden powers that he thought forcing her to do it would be out of the question.

Now, she had refused because of her love for those she cared for. Pyrrha was selfless, but she couldn't find it in herself to let go of the relationships she had. Now because of it, he was taking drastic measures to ensure the safety of the Fall Maiden. He picked up Pyrrha, putting her over his shoulders and rushed to the elevator.

"Pyrrha!" Nora called out, immediately alerting Ozpin to her, Ren and Jaune.

"Professor?" Jaune shouted. "What are you doing?" The Headmaster didn't answer, instead entering the elevator. Pyrrha's teammates hurried to try and stop him, but the doors closed before they could enter.

"No!" Jaune shouted in anger. "What is he doing with her?"

"Stand back!" Nora told them both. She started to build up electricity, charging Magnhild until she felt strong enough and smashed the elevator door to pieces.

"Come on!" she insisted as she put Jaune on her back and leapt down. Ren followed after them by sliding down the elevator cables.

-0-

"Hey, Cinder," Mercury addressed. "I saw Ozpin taking Pyrrha down the elevator. She was unconscious."

"Unconscious?" she questioned. "Are you certain?"

"Sure am," the martial artist assured. "Her teammates just went down there. Do you think that's where they've been keeping Amber?" Cinder was quiet for a few moments as she looked at where Nora had destroyed the elevator door.

"All this time, she was right under our noses," the ashen haired woman spoke. "I'm going after him." She was about to leave, but paused; she raised up her palm to disintegrate an arrow aimed for her. The arrow came from none other than Robin Kendrick, along with Ruo-Jian Bai Hu.

"What is all of this?" the archer demanded to know. "Why are you-"

"Mainly because I have a promise to fulfill," Cinder replied with a sadistic smirk. "Mercury, Emerald, deal with them. I have other matters to attend to." Robin shot another arrow at her, but this time, Mercury deflected the projectile. Just as the fight was about to ensure, the whole ground started to shake violently. While everyone else was shocked by this, Cinder simply smirked in delight.

"Don't miss this, Mercury," she commanded before heading off.

 **Author's Notes: MRRN Volume 3 only has several chapters left before the next Volume begins! I hope you've all been enjoying this series so far!**


	21. Casualties

**RWBY: MRRN**

 **VOLUME 3, CHAPTER 21: Casualties**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

"Hurry!" Phillip urged the students they rescued from some Beowulves in one of Beacon's hallways.

"Head to the main courtyard!" Safirlas instructed. "Transports are on their way!"

Several Raptors charged at the rescue party. Copper pulled out his revolver and swiftly took out three of them while Medeia fired three arrows, taking out more.

Safirlas leapt forward and impaled her spear into one of the Raptors. She immediately retracted it and twirled it above her head, knocking two more to the ground. One of the Raptors still standing leapt at her, but ended up skewered by Himmelkanten.

As an Ursa Major arrived on the scene, Math activated Dionach and gestured for Nasser to jump off it. The knife user smirked before leaping onto the shield and then bouncing off, tearing through the Ursa with his Semblance.

"Math," Medeia addressed. "The Grimm and Iron Knights' numbers are growing too much. We have to get out."

"But there are still other students and faculty in there," the swordsman responded. "We can't just abandon them when there's a chance to save them."

"We're running out of time," Copper spoke. "We've managed to save many students and faculty as it is, but she's right. Beacon is lost."

Math looked around the Academy. As much as he didn't want to admit it, they were right; the Academy was overrun with Grimm and Iron Knights. Many of the students, faculty and Atlesian soldiers were dead, their corpses littering the ground and hallways.

He sighed heavily before conceding. He had led them on a rescue mission, not a suicide. They had saved as many people as they could, but the enemies' numbers were becoming too much for them. They had to evacuate.

"Okay," he reluctantly replied. "We get out of Beacon as soon as possible, but we save anyone we see on the way."

"Look out!" Nasser called as an Atlesian ship was seen plummeting to the group's location. Everyone quickly jumped out of the way as the ship crashed into the building, causing it to fall to rubble as they hurried out of the way.

When they were allowed to catch their breath, Math looked and saw that out of all of them, only Copper, Phillip and Nasser were with him.

"Where's everyone else?" he questioned.

"They must be on the other side of the rubble," Copper assumed. "I'll check." He put his hand on the wall and waited for a few moments before smiling.

"They're fine," he assured Math.

"Unfortunately, there's no way through that rubble," the swordsman pointed out. "Not without causing an even bigger collapse. We'll have to keep going around." He then cupped his mouth.

"Guys!" he called out. "If you can hear me, go around! We'll try and meet up with you!" There was a silence before hearing "Math?!"

"It's me, sis!" the swordsman confirmed. "Head back to the courtyard! Hopefully, we'll meet up."

"Be careful!" she shouted back.

"You too!" Math replied as he went off with the others to get out of Beacon.

-0-

Robin fired another arrow at Cinder, but Emerald deflected it with one of her weapons, allowing the ashen-haired woman to fly away to the CCT. Robin fired another arrow at Emerald, but she again deflected it.

Ruo leapt at Mercury, clawing at him with timed attacks. Mercury blocked the first two attacks before countering with a roundhouse kick; when he recovered, Ruo was nowhere to be seen. The gray-haired male simply smirked.

"I'm not going to lose my focus just because you-" He was cut off when Ruo punched him off the roof and onto the next building. The White Tiger pounced onto him, pinning him to the ground.

"Why are you doing all this?" he demanded to know as he raised one of his hands and branded his claws. Mercury just smiled sadistically.

"Because I'm good at being bad," he replied shamelessly before kicking Ruo off him to the side. He got back onto his feet and tightened his fists while the Faunus showed the razor claws on his gauntlets.

"We'll stop you," the Faunus growled. Mercury laughed.

"You honestly think you can stop this?" he taunted. "We have all the cards. Anything that's not a Huntsman or a civilian is trying to kill you. I think this is pretty much wrapped up."

Ruo pounced at him and slashed at his stomach; Mercury evaded the attack by ducking and then sweep kicked at his feet. The Faunus flipped over him and quickly blocked a kick to his face with a cross of Huzhao. Mercury then jumped to kick at Ruo's face from the side, but he ducked at the last moment before grabbing his opponent's leg and tossing him against the side of the other building, making him fall to the ground.

Robin leapt over Emerald, firing an Ice Dust arrow at her; she tried to lash at him with her kusarigama, but he missed and hit the chain, freezing the weapon. He went in and slashed at Emerald with the bladed edge of Sharp Shot, but she dodged or blocked his attacks before attacking with her free weapon.

The archer jumped over and caught her neck near the string notch of his bow, bringing her down and slamming her into the ground. He stepped on her arm, nocked a Fire Dust arrow and aimed straight for her head.

"How do we stop this?" he demanded to know.

"You can't," Emerald stated before she used her frozen chain to swipe at Robin, hitting his head and freeing the weapon from the ice. Now that she was free, she got onto her feet and prepared to fight.

When she didn't make a move, Robin felt something was off. He activated hid Semblance and was proven correct. Emerald wasn't standing in front of him; she was getting away. He used his Semblance again to look closer at her to see the fighter pull out her scroll.

"Why are they trying to record this?" he wondered as he hurried after her.

Ruo landed on the ground next to Mercury, who quickly recovered to kick at the Faunus. While he dodged that kick, Mercury flipped kicked Ruo's face, causing him to stumble back a little.

The Faunus felt his chest become heavy and his breath a bit ragged. His mediocre endurance and stamina was catching up on him. Mercury took notice of this and smirked as he slowly approached his opponent.

"Yeah, cats often don't have great stamina from what I hear," he chuckled.

"I'm not out yet," the Faunus responded before unleashing a frenzy of slashes at Mercury. The gray kicker blocked his attacks mostly with his arms until he was able to counter with an upward kick, breaking Ruo's pattern and then kicked him again in his chest, crashing him into the wall.

"I'm going to be honest; I had more fun going up against your girlfriend than I'm having against you," he taunted, earning him a glare from the White Tiger. "She may have a temper, but at least she could put up a fight."

"So can I," the Faunus replied before getting back up. Mercury took the offensive this time; he unleashed a frenzy of kicks at Ruo, who blocked the majority of them while a few managed to land on him. Ruo finally grabbed Mercury's foot and slammed him into the ground. He then activated the Earth Dust in his right gauntlet and tore off the greave on Mercury's left leg. The martial artist used his free weapon to kick Ruo's arms away and get back onto his feet.

"How did you-?"

"Nasser warned us," the Faunus answered. "We know that the 'unprovoked attack on you' was a setup. Emerald used her Semblance to trick Yang."

"Well, good luck proving that," Mercury smirked.

"We will," Ruo responded. "Once we've taken you in, you'll them everything what you know."

"You have to catch me first," Mercury replied before leaping between buildings to get to the rooftop. Ruo climbed one of the walls to the rooftop and chased after him.

Emerald looked around to make sure that Robin was no longer following her; when she was certain she had lost him, she took out her scroll and started recording the chaos unfolding, ranging from the Huntsmen fighting the Grimm to the Atlesian Knights and Paladins attacking innocent people. She even managed to catch sight of a Paladin kicking away Coco Adel, knocking her to the ground. She caught another one stomping down on Arslan Altan, crushing her beneath its weight until she was dead.

An arrow struck the scroll out of her hands, leaving it unable to be used any longer. She groaned in annoyance before pulling out her weapons and unloading several rounds at Robin, who deflected them with a twirl of his sword. He quickly changed it back to its bow form and fired two Water Dust arrows at Emerald, who bounced them both away with her blades.

When they both landed near her, the Dust became large puddles. She looked over at Robin to see him nock a Lightning Dust arrow and firing at her. She quickly moved out of the way before she could be electrocuted by his attack and swung her chain at him, which he dodged.

He closed in on her once again to deliver a barrage of bow slashes at her; she blocked many of them, but a few well-timed ones hit her Aura, causing it to shimmer. She broke his rhythm of attack by suddenly disappearing. She had used her Semblance again.

Robin activated his own and saw Emerald prepared to throw her chains at him. She threw one of them and he successfully dodged it by flipping to the side.

Unfortunately, he didn't catch the other chain that swiftly wrapped around his ankles.

Emerald swung him into the rooftop twice in two separate areas before throwing him against the side of the next building. He was unable to recover onto his feet as he landed and his Aura was depleted protecting him from the impact.

"I'm getting really sick of that Semblance of yours," Emerald told him as she leapt down and closed in on him. Robin quickly hurried over to get his weapon and aim an arrow; Emerald wasn't there. Without his Aura, he could not use his Semblance to find her, so he kept his arrow up, ready to shoot at any time she could appear.

"GYAAAAAA!"

He felt a sharp pain in his eyes before falling to the ground. He closed them tight in pain as he felt warm blood run down his cheeks. He kept screaming in agony at what Emerald had just done to him.

"There," she spoke. "Now you won't be a problem anymore." He shot the arrow, but could tell he had missed hitting her.

"Wow, I thought you were an expert marksman," she gloated. "How could you miss me? I'm three feet in front of you."

He kept groaning in pain as he struggled to get back up. He could hear nothing from Emerald for moments, meaning she had most likely used her Semblance to get away without alerting him.

"Dammit," he groaned before he fell to his knees, still feeling the warm blood run down his cheeks.

Ruo caught up with Mercury, but barely had enough energy to keep on fighting him. He pinned him to the ground with Ice Dust, making sure he could not counter.

"It's over, Mercury," he growled. "I don't know what you were planning to accomplish, but you're done. We're turning you over to the authorities."

A chain suddenly hit him, knocking him away from Mercury. He looked up to see Emerald free him from the ice bonds that pinned him to the ground. Before anything else could be done, they suddenly disappeared.

"No," he growled in frustration before getting up. Suddenly, a thought struck him; if Emerald was here, that must mean she won her fight against Robin.

"Robin!" he called out before bolting across the rooftops, using whatever energy he had left. He stopped when he heard groaning and grunts of pain on the ground level. He looked down to see Robin kneeling, his hand on his face, prompting him to leap down and check on him.

"Robin, are you okay?" he asked. To his horror, when Robin pulled his hand away, it was stained red with blood. Ruo turned his teammate to face him and his eyes widened in horror.

"Robin…your eyes…"

-0-

Safirlas and her teammates hurried through the Beacon grounds, helping out students along the way.

"More Knights!" Imamu called out as he raised his shield to block the bullets and then charged forward to take two of them out with his shotel. Rong leapt over him with his hooked swords and slashed three more before they could reload their weapons.

Safirlas twirled her spear to deflect several bullets aimed for her; she then pulled two knives and threw them at the Knights, penetrating their helmets and killing them. Medeia then shot an arrow straight through their head and another through their torso.

"Keep moving," Medeia instructed them.

While Safirlas was trying not to show it, she was concerned for her brother since she had no idea where he was. It made her nauseous thinking that he could possibly suffer a very grueling death at the hands of these monsters, who were running around, killing everything that moved.

"He'll be fine," Medeia assured her teammate, easily sensing her anxiety. "He'll stay alive, so we need to as well."

As they rounded a corner to an open area, their hearts dropped when they saw a cloaked, armored figure standing before them, still as a statue. His red eyes slowly opened before tilting his head up to glare at them.

"Nachtfel," Imamu deduced. "He's the guy Math told us about."

"Math?" he growled. "So that's his name. The name of one of those who has been a thorn in our side ever since the Vytal Committee."

"You stay away from my brother!" Safirlas warned, pointing Himmelkanten towards him.

"Brother?" he asked. "Let's see if you are as determined as he is…or as foolish." He slowly unsheathed his nodachi and pointed it at the four students while holding his scabbard in his left hand.

"Take him!" Medeia commanded as she nocked two arrows and shot at Nachtfel, who deflected them with his blade. He charged forward and slashed at them, which all e of Team IRIS dodged.

Safirlas and Rong jumped in, attacking him simultaneously while using their weapons to keep Nachtfel at a distance. The demon warrior simply deflected their blows until he saw Imamu leapt in with his shotel. Upon impact, Nachtfel disintegrated into ashes and reappeared behind them, near Medeia.

The leader of Team IRIS turned her bow into daggers and got in close to Nachtfel, delivering slashes at her armor, hoping to find a weak spot. Nachtfel hit her with his scabbard, knocking her aside.

Before he could finish her, Imamu bashed him with his shield and then swung his shotel at him again. The demon warrior blocked the attack and was about to retaliate, but catching sight of Safirlas and Rong about to attack made him go on the defensive.

He blocked Safirlas's spear with his sword and hit Rong with his scabbard before focusing his attention back on Medeia, who aimed two arrows at him. He disintegrated into ashes just before they hit him.

"Where is he?" Rong asked before he crashed down between them with his blade, sending them all back. Rong was the first to recover and attack Nachtfel with deadly hook attacks. He then hooked them together to swing at his opponent while keeping him at a distance.

The plan backfired. Nachtfel used his scabbard to pin one of the swords to the ground, stopping his attacks. Rong freed his sword to continue fighting Nachtfel, but he was unfortunately disarmed. The demon warrior then tore through his Aura and stabbed him through the chest.

"RONG!" Imamu cried out as Safirlas and Medeia watched in horror. Their pain only became greater when Nachtfel took some of Rong's blood, smeared it on his shoulder…and then cut him in half, severing his torso from his legs.

"You bastard!" Medeia shouted as she shot arrow after arrow at him, hoping he'd be vulnerable to Safirlas's and Imamu's attack. Instead of blocking their attack, Nachtfel disintegrated once more, appeared in front of Medeia and slashed her stomach.

"Medeia…" Safirlas whispered in horror. Their leader was then impaled from behind for a quick moment before being decapitated.

The two remaining members of Team IRIS roared in anguish as they attack Nachtfel once more, wanting to avenge their teammates. Nachtfel, again, deflected their attacks as before and knocked Safirlas aside.

Imamu held his ground against the devil for as long as he could, but he couldn't land a hit on him. Nachtfel used his scabbard to rip Imamu's shield away and then stab him in his chest. Unlike Medeia and Rong's deaths, he didn't waste time in mutilating his body before kicking him onto the ground.

Safirlas was in near tears this moment. Her entire team was killed, two of them in especially gruesome ways. They had tried to take down Nachtfel, but he was simply too strong for them.

"You're all fools," he stated.

That did it. Safirlas cleared her face of her tears and continued her fight against the devil warrior. She again used her weapon to keep him at a distance so he couldn't get too close to her.

She put up a very valiant effort, lasting fairly well against Nachtfel, but he was too much for her. When her spear was bounced away by an attack, she felt a sharp pain in her stomach.

She had been stabbed. She backed up slowly, putting her hands on Nachtfel's sword hand and his forearm, trying to stand up straight. She breathed heavily as she struggled to stand. When Nachtfel removed his blade from her, she fell to her knees, unable to stand on her feet any longer.

"I'll show your brother your head," the devil spoke before raising his blade to finish her off.

A blast from Gravity Dust sent him flying into the wall. He quickly recovered to see that the attacker was Glaucus Viisaus.

The Gray Wanderer unleashed a barrage of sword and staff strikes on Nachtfel, who initially managed to keep up with them until one staff strike imbued with Gravity Dust pounded him to the ground. He recovered enough to use his Semblance and teleport away for a brief moment.

"The Gray Wanderer," he addressed. "This is the first time I've ever seen you in person."

"If you run, it won't be the last," Glaucus promised.

"This isn't over," the devil responded before teleporting away. Glaucus quickly returned to Safirlas and could see that she was losing blood quickly. She wouldn't make it to a medical station in time if he attempted to take her; she'd bleed to death before they even got to the CCT.

"Please," she cried as she put her hands on her wound.

"I will help you," he assured, trying to calm down the emotional Safirlas. He was met with a simple "I'm scared." Glaucus put his hand up to her wound and then looked at her, then handed her a glove to bite down on.

"Bite down," he instructed. She quickly took the glove into her mouth and bit down before feeling a heat on her wound. She looked to see heat coming from Glaucus's hand as it came closer and closer.

As soon as his hand touched it, she cried in pain and gripped down on the handle of her spear. Glaucus pressed his hand down on her wound, cauterizing it and attempted to sear it closed.

It took much more time than he hoped, but he eventually succeeded in searing Safirlas's wound closed. He helped her onto her feet, which she stumbled and nearly fell back down.

"Can you walk?" he asked.

"Barely," she responded. "Thanks, Glaucus."

"You're welcome," he assured.

"Math is still in there," she informed. "He led a rescue mission to save students and faculty still in Beacon. We got separated when a ship crashed into the building we were in."

"Once I've gotten you to the docks, I'll come back for him," Glaucus assured. "Transports are on their way to get the wounded out of here. Hopefully, Forest and his team has managed to clear the way for them."

-0-

Pyrrha felt a bit drowsy as she started to wake up. The first thing she noticed was that she was in a metal capsule with a glass window showing Ozpin pressing buttons.

She immediately recollected what had happened: she had refused to take the Maiden's power. Despite Ozpin insisting, possibly begging, she could not find it in herself to sacrifice the love she had found. Then she remembered a blunt force to her head, making her lose consciousness.

Had Ozpin gone as far as to force the Maiden powers on her?

"Professor!" she cried out. "What are you doing?"

"I'm doing what I must to secure the Maiden's power," he replied, showing hints of regret in his tone.

"I told you I wouldn't do it!" she stated firmly. "Let me out!" Ozpin didn't reply. Pyrrha started up her Semblance and was about to force the capsule open.

Before she finished, she felt a mass amount of pain in her body, as if all of her bones were breaking at once. It was unbearable and she wanted it to stop.

"PYRRHA!" Jaune cried out, running up to them with Nora and Ren. "What are you doing to her?"

"It's what must be done," Ozpin responded shamefully, knowing that he had lied to their teammate.

"It's killing her!" Nora pointed out as she readied her hammer.

"No, Ms. Valkyrie!" the Headmaster spoke against. "You must not!" Nora didn't listen; she brought Magnhild down on the capsule, but only succeeded in causing minor damage. She was prepared to bring it down once more, but Ozpin knocked her away with his cane.

"What are you doing to her!?" Jaune demanded to know. "And who's that other girl!?"

"You don't understand!" Ozpin responded. "The person on the loudspeaker, this girl is who they're after."

"Why?" Ren questioned. "Why would someone cause all this destruction just for her?"

Before Ozpin could answer, a black arrow struck the other girl, piercing her chest. She gasped for a few moments before dying. Everyone turned to see that the arrow was shot by Cinder, just like Nasser and Math pointed out. Suddenly, a mass of orange emerged from Amber and collided with Cinder, seeming to power her up.

"No," Ozpin whispered. Without warning, Cinder unleashed a blast of flame at everyone, knocking them to the ground.

"NO!" Pyrrha cried as she pounded against the glass. She finally used her Semblance to free herself and threw the door at Cinder, who simply blasted it away. She saw that Jaune had brought her weapons and used her polarity to summon them.

"You must get out!" Ozpin told her. Pyrrha glared at her Headmaster with disgust and betrayal.

"Why should I listen to you!?" she barked. "You forced me into that machine!"

"I had no choice!" he responded. "But if you want to stay alive, then take your teammates and hurry!" She looked at her teammates and see only Nora and Jaune get up while Ren stayed unconscious. She them looked at Cinder, who didn't seem focused on her now that she had the Maiden's power.

"Nora, Jaune, we must go," Pyrrha told her teammates. She helped Jaune onto his feet while Nora slung Ren over her own.

"What will you do?" Nora asked Ozpin.

"I'll hold her off," the Headmaster answered. "Now go."

"Professor, if I see you, we are having a very deep discussion about this," the redhead warned her Headmaster, feeling nothing but contempt for him now. Team JNPR hurried out of the vault while Cinder levitated down to stand on the ground.

"All this time, she was right under our noses," she remarked. "I knew you were arrogant, but this is something else." She then looked to see the fleeing members of JNPR escape the vault, but did nothing to stop them.

"To force this on a young girl who had so much to love, so much to live for…when everyone else finds out about this, about far you were willing to go, they will be disgusted. But first…" Her eyes blazes as she summoned the Maiden's power.

"Die, Ozpin!"

No more was said as the two clashed.


	22. Long-Awaited Fights

**RWBY: MRRN**

 **VOLUME 3, CHAPTER 22: Long-Awaited Fights**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

Forest struck down another Iron Knight with a swift strike of his blade before deflecting an attack from the Crusher's axe and punching him with his gauntlet. He then blocked two attacks from two separate Iron Knights with Rohkeus before slashing and taking both of them down.

Sterling took the high ground, picking off any Iron Knights with ranged weapons that weren't in Forest or Ruadh's line of sight. He shot another one down through the skull and the next through his chest. Several of the Iron Knights looked up to see him and aimed their weapons at him to open fire. He leapt to a rooftop and avoided the bullets before nocking two more arrows and taking out two of the Knights.

"How many of these bastards are there?" the axe user shouted as he struck another one down. He then cleaved his axe into another Knight's skull, killing them instantly.

Before Forest could answer, Atlesian Knights started firing at them, much to their shock. Sterling turned his attention from the Iron Knights to the AKs as they approached his two teammates.

"Great, now the Atlesian Knights are against us?" Ruadh called out as he cut down another Knight.

"Someone must've hacked them," the eagle deduced as he slashed another pair of Iron Knights. From above, Sterling leapt from the roof and landed on one of the AKs. He took down another one with a strong hit from his double bow before shooting another one in the head.

"I saw armored transports and airships heading to escort the survivors out of Beacon," Sterling informed. "But the Knights have set up an anti-aircraft turret several blocks from here. They'll shoot down any ships attempting to evacuate."

"Then Forest better go!" Ruadh insisted. "He can get there the fastest."

"Will you two be fine on your own?" Forest asked as he killed another Iron Knight.

"Of course we will," Sterling replied as he took down another AK. "I'll keep Ruadh safe."

"Ha, you're the one who struggles to keep up," the bearded axe user joked. "Now go, Forest!"

"Be careful, you two," he replied before turning into a Vacuo Golden Eagle and flying off to find the anti-aircraft turret while Ruadh and Sterling continued to fight off the Iron Knights.

Just as Sterling informed, the Iron Knights had only set it up a few blocks away from their location, but was a perfect spot to take out any airships for the evacuation from Beacon. It opened fire on one of the airships heading to Beacon, shooting its engine and causing it to plummet into the city.

Forest immediately morphed back into his human form and kicked one of the dozen Iron Knights guarding the turret.

"Where'd he come from?" the gunner asked.

"Doesn't matter!" another Knight responded. "Kill him and shoot those ships down!"

"That's not happening," Forest replied as he unsheathed Rohkeus and activated his gauntlet. Every Knight, excluding the gunner, charged at the veteran Huntsman. The eagle leapt over all of them and slashed his weapon along some of the turret's exposed parts, hoping it would cause some damage.

When the gunner primed the turret to fire again, it made a loud humming noise. It then start to make a banging noise before it exploded. Forest was quick enough to get out of the blast radius, but the Knights nearby were all either injured or killed.

"That was easy," he responded. His scroll went off, so he pulled it out of his pocket, showing the name 'Glaucus' on the screen.

"Glaucus, are you okay?" the master swordsman asked.

" _I'm fine,"_ the Gray Wanderer informed. _"Is the pathway clear?"_

"We're taking care of it, but it should hopefully be safe by now," Forest answered. "They're sending airships and armored transports to escort the survivors out of Beacon. How bad is the situation at the Academy?"

" _Very bad,"_ Glaucus answered. _"Many of the Academy's defenders are either injured or dead. Even though the Iron Knights and White Fang are pulling out, that massive winged Grimm keeps attracting more. The Academy will be overrun within hours."_

"What about Math?" Forest asked. "Is he with you?"

" _He's still in Beacon,"_ Glaucus replied. _"He was leading a rescue mission until they got separated. I'm going back to find him."_

"I'll make sure the pathway to the safe zone stays clear," the eagle assured. "If they set up any more weapons targeting the evacuees, we'll take care of them."

" _Be careful,"_ Glaucus concluded his call and hung up. Forest morphed into his eagle form and flew back to help Sterling and Ruadh.

-0-

Ruo carried Robin back to the docks where the remaining students were, waiting for the transports to get them out of Beacon safely. As he approached, he saw a horrid sight: Yang was on the ground, most likely unconscious…with her right arm gone.

"Yang!" the Faunus cried out as he hurried over to her.

"Robin!" Coco shouted as she rushed over to the two members of MRRN. She looked at Robin's face to see the blood seeping from where his eyes used to be and she covered her mouth in shock.

"Not him too," she gasped. Ruo was confused at first, but looked past her to see Velvet with blood on her clothes, likely from injuries sustained during the battle. She was being tended to by Yatsu, doing what he could to stop the bleeding.

"What happened to Yang?" Ruo questioned. Blake, who was on the ground next to his girlfriend, looked up at him with tear-stained eyes full of regret.

"I'm…I'm so sorry," she tearfully apologized. "It's all my fault."

"Go see her," Coco insisted. "I've got Robin." She gently took the archer off Ruo's shoulders and placed him against a lamppost. She was doing her best to be brave, but the urge to cry over the injuries inflicted on her teammate and boyfriend were weighing heavily on her.

"Where's Math and Nasser?" Ruo questioned. There was no answer. He quickly looked around the docks, but saw no indication of his teammates.

"Where the hell are Math and Nasser!?" he shouted.

"They're still in Beacon," Glaucus answered, walking towards with the wounded Safirlas. "They were separated. I'm going back for them."

"I'm going with you," Ruo insisted.

"No," Glaucus refused. "You must stay here, in case the Iron Knights and Grimm come. Many of these students are wounded and unable to fight. They need you here."

"But Math-" Ruo started but stopped when he looked around.

Many of the students, including Robin, Yang and Velvet, were badly injured and unable to continue fighting; they were ripe prey for the Grimm and Iron Knights. They would need others to protect them or they wouldn't make it to Vale.

"Okay," he reluctantly agreed. "You better come back with him."

"I will," Glaucus sternly replied as he helped Safirlas sit against a column.

"NO!" Yatsu shouted. Ruo quickly turned around to see him with a devastated look on his face. Coco hurried back to her teammate and looked down, not caring that her shades fell off.

"Velvet…no…" she silently cried as she caressed her friend's face. Ruo knew too well what it meant; Velvet didn't make it.

Coco's breathing became strained as tears started to roll down her cheeks. She kept repeating 'No, no, no, no' over and over again, not wanting to accept her teammate's demise. When it set it, that the bunny Faunus was gone, she covered her eyes with her hand and let out all of her sadness and pain.

"Is there anyone else missing?" Glaucus asked.

"Team JNPR!" Weiss informed. "They're still in there somewhere."

"Then we'll find them," Ruby insisted. "And we're not taking no for an answer, Glaucus. You don't have time to find both them and Mathdon."

"I hate doing this, but…hurry and bring them back," the Gray Wanderer demanded. "Even with the White Fang and Iron Knights leaving, the Grimm numbers are swelling quickly."

"We'll be back," Ruby assured as she and Weiss hurried off to find their friends. Glaucus then hurried off to find Mathdon, Nasser and those with them.

-0-

"The Iron Knights and White Fang are pulling back," Math spoke as he, Nasser, Copper and Phillip hurried out of Beacon. "But we still have the Grimm to worry about."

"Do you think your sister's team made it out?" Copper asked.

Math remained silent. He knew his sister's team was strong, but he couldn't help but worry for them. The Iron Knights were trained to fight and kill Huntsmen…and there were hundreds of them here. He didn't want to think they had met an untimely demise, but the horrid thought seeped into his mind.

"Let's hurry," he insisted. "The sooner we're out of Beacon, the better."

"I know you don't like we don't have time to save everyone," Phillip attempted to console, seeing the regret on Math's face. "But those we saved…they get to live another day. Be thankful we saved those lives instead of none at all."

"I know," Math replied. "It's a reality I don't like, but…" He sighed, unable to finish his sentence.

"Grimm!" Copper called out as several Raptors and two Ursa Majors charged towards the group. Nasser, Copper and Phillip charged at them, but as Math attempted to, he was pushed by a powerful force into the wall.

"If you care so much about those people," a familiar voice growled, revealed to be Nachtfel pinning him against the wall. "Then you can die with them." Math activated Dionach and bashed at the warrior, who leapt back to avoid the shield.

"You bastard," Math growled as he got up and unsheathed Claiomh Solais. "First the Vytal Committee, then Alan Kura, now this…when does it stop? When does all this needless death and suffering stop!?"

"When every Huntsman and Huntress in Remnant is dead," Nachtfel replied coldly. "And when I have my vengeance."

He charged towards Math and unleashed a flurry of strikes on him, which Math blocked with an activated Dionach. The devil then jabbed his scabbard into the shield, knocking the swordsman a little off balance. He then slammed his blade into Math, damaging his Aura and sending him flying through the wall.

"Math!" Nasser called out and hurried to help his teammate, but was pinned to the ground by one of the Ursa Majors.

Math got back onto his feet and traded blows with Nachtfel with both his sword and shield. Nachtfel brought his blade down on Math, but he blocked it and slashed at the devil's torso, hitting his armor and causing his black-colored Aura to shimmer from the impact.

Nachtfel then kicked him in his leg, forcing him onto one knee; when he followed with a sword slash, Math deflected the attack with Dionach. The swordsman retaliated by imbuing his weapon with two Aura Swords and then slashing at Nachtfel, landing a successful hit on his helmet.

When he stood back, he could see that bits of Nachtfel's helmet had been slashed off by his attack. When the demon turned to look at Math, the swordsman could see long strands of black hair and gold eyes that were filled with only one emotion: hatred.

Nachtfel lunged at the leader of MRRN once again, whose attack was blocked by Dionach. The swordsman pushed the blade aside and slashed at Nachtfel twice; the first strike was blocked by his scabbard, but before the second strike could land, Nachtfel disintegrated into ashes and appeared behind Mathdon.

Math swung at him, but missed; Nachtfel then slashed the swordsman's sword arm, damaging his Aura once again. The swordsman stumbled back from the attack, grabbing his arm.

"What happened?" Math demanded to know. "What did the Huntsmen do to you that was so horrible?"

"You couldn't understand," the warrior responded, anger rising in his tone. "All you Huntsmen are the same: callous and heartless to the damage you cause."

"Heartless!?" Mathdon shouted. "You're the one who kills innocent people who don't support your cause! Your Knights are the ones killing Huntsmen and Huntresses, even when they do nothing wrong! How can you be so hypocritical?!"

"I am not a hypocrite," Nachtfel denied. "Everything my Knights and I have done has been for those who cannot protect themselves, who suffer at the corruption of the Huntsmen. This world will only know peace once you are all gone."

"And what about those who suffer because you of your hatred?" Math questioned. "How many families did you tear apart when you kill their family members? How many?"

"The fault is not mine," Nachtfel denied once more. "They made family with the wrong people. They married those who cause corruption throughout Remnant. In time, this world will thank the Iron Knights."

"They will do nothing but condemn you for what you've done," Math shouted. The two of them charged at each other once more, trading blows with each other.

It had become apparent to Nachtfel that Math had grown stronger since their last encounter at the Council Hall. Before, he couldn't land any hits on him, even with the help of his teammate; now, he had succeeded in destroying a bit of his helmet and depleting his Aura bit by bit during their duel.

Math bashed Nachtfel in the face, breaking his helmet some more. The demon, enraged, knocked Claiomh Solais out of Math's hand and then grabbed him by the throat, choking him. The swordsman reached out to retrieve his blade, but before he could get it, the demon slammed him into the wall.

Math cried out in agony when he felt a deeply sharp pain in his right arm near his shoulder. He looked over to see that Nachtfel had pinned his arm to the wall…by driving his blade through it.

"You've been a thorn in our side," Nachtfel spoke as he punched Math across the face.

"You and your friends are a cancer on Remnant." He punched him once more.

"I will not rest until every last one of you is dead." Nachtfel then punched him again and again until his face was bloodied.

"You're…a monster," Math spoke defiantly. Nachtfel grabbed the hilt of his sword and pulled it out of Math's arm, making him fall to the ground as blood seeped from the wound.

"I am not a monster," Nachtfel spoke before grabbing Math by his injured arm and stabbing him through his torso.

Math coughed up blood as his unhurt hand grabbed Nachtfel's arm holding the blade. The demon squeezed Math's arm, causing him to cry out in pain. After a few moments of watching Math suffer, Nachtfel pulled his sword out and prepared to finish him.

"No!" Nasser roared as he used his Semblance to launch himself at Nachtfel, sending him into the wall of the building. The devil looked up to see Copper and Phillip join him, all ready to fight the leader of the Iron Knights.

"What's the matter?" Nasser mocked, pointing one of his SMGs at him. "Too afraid to fight so many opponents at once?"

"No," Nachtfel spoke. "This school will be overrun with Grimm within hours. My Knights have already evacuated. We will live to see another day…but you will not, unless you abandon him to death."

"Go to hell!" Nasser roared as he threw one of his chained knives at him, but only hit the wall as Nachtfel disintegrated into ashes and disappeared.

"We need to get out of here," Phillip stated as he hurried over to Math. He examined the wounds near his shoulder and in his torso; he was losing too much blood. If they tried to move him as is, he would bleed to death.

"I have an idea," Phillip spoke. "Copper, give me your glove." The cowboy took off his glove and handed it to Phillip, who then put it in Math's mouth.

"Hold him down," the Atlesian armor user instructed. When Nasser and Copper had him pinned to the ground, Phillip transformed one of his gauntlets into a laser, aimed at Math's torso wound and began to sear it closed.

The swordsman cried out from the pain, especially since Phillip was doing it slowly to ensure that the wound did indeed close. He breathed heavily as Copper and Nasser held him down, wanting the pain to stop.

When it did, he felt the same on his arm where Nachtfel had wounded him. Finally, the pain became too much and he passed out.

"Oh, God," Nasser spoke when he saw that Math's eyes were closed. "Math!?"

"He's only unconscious," Phillip deduced. "He must've passed out from the pain. Let's move!" Phillip tried to take Mathdon over his shoulders, but Nasser beat him to it. The three of them quickly left the building, but stopped when they saw an older Huntsman with a sword in one hand and a staff in the other.

"Math!" he called out as he hurried over to them and looked in horror at the swordsman.

"He's only unconscious," Nasser assured. "We had to sear his wounds closed."

"What happened?" he questioned.

"That son of a bitch, Nachtfel, got the jump on him while we were dealing with Grimm," the knife user informed bitterly. "Hopefully, he'll be fine."

"We must hurry," Glaucus insisted. "Everyone is being evacuated at the Docks. They've sent airships and armored transports to escort everyone to safety."

"Then let's get the hell out of here," Nasser agreed, hoping his team leader would survive with his wounds seared closed.

-0-

"What was that?" Jaune asked Pyrrhas they escaped from the CCT. "Why did Ozpin try to force you into that machine?"

"Jaune…" Pyrrha tried to speak, but a rumbling noise interrupted them, alerting them to Cinder as she ascended to the top of the tower.

"If she's alive…Ozpin…" Nora spoke.

"There isn't time," Pyrrha spoke. "You need to leave. Go to Vale and get help."

"What will you do?" Jaune asked. The redhead looked up to the tower, where Cinder was heading.

"No," her leader refused. "You saw how powerful she is. You can't stop her."

"If we all run, then she will turn her attention to Vale," Pyrrha informed. "She won't just stop here."

"Then we should all go," Nora insisted. "We're a team, Pyrrha."

"Ren is unconscious," the Amazon pointed out. "You need to get him to safety. I will handle Cinder."

"Pyrrha, you could die," Jaune argued. "Don't do this."

"If we do nothing…"

She knew that Cinder would turn her attention to Vale once she was done with Beacon. If nothing was done, then what was to stop the Kingdom from suffering the same fate as the Academy?

"I'm the only one who has a chance against her," Pyrrha spoke. "I can at least stall her until help arrives."

"No," Nora refused. "We're not leaving you." The redhead smiled softly.

"I know you won't," she replied. "So I won't make you choose." She used her polarity on the both of them to stuff them into two nearby rocket lockers.

"What are you doing!?" Jaune cried out. "Don't!" She looked at them mournfully as she put in the destinations.

"Tell Math…I love him," she spoke before the two lockers flew away. She then turned her attention to the top of the tower, where Cinder was heading.

Every step she took felt heavy. She knew it was her responsibility to fight and protect those who couldn't protect themselves, she knew this too well. She had to at the least stall Cinder until help could arrive.

As she approached the CCT, memories of her time here at Beacon rushed through her mind. The laughs, the sadness, the smiles, the comfort…the love; she had gained so much from her team at Beacon.

Could she really die for it? Could she really forfeit her life when she knew how much she meant to Mathdon?

"I love you, Mathdon Kendrick," Pyrrha spoke as if she was heading for her death. "You mean so much to me. I wanted to be your beloved. I wanted to be your wife. I wanted to have your children. I wanted…I wanted to spend my life with you. If I don't make it, I'm sorry."

A tear ran down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away as she hurried to the elevator and used her polarity to open the doors. She examined the damage Cinder caused before stepping inside and using her polarity to boost her to the top of the tower.

It was only mere moments until she reached the top; she quickly threw her sword at Cinder, who merely dodged the attack. She then threw her hoplon and kicked into it; again, Cinder merely blocked the attack.

"You're either very brave or very stupid to come after me," the ashen-haired woman spoke condescendingly.

Pyrrha didn't reply as she attacked Cinder, who blocked her attacks and then forced her back with a wave of flame. She then unleashed roaring flame after roaring flame at her, some of which Pyrrha dodged, others she blocked with her hoplon. She charged through one of them and slashed at Cinder several times until she caught her blade and then blasted her against the wall.

"Why do you fight a battle you cannot win?" Cinder arrogantly spoke. "Don't you think this would break Mathdon's heart?"

Pyrrha remained focused, but she hated Cinder mentioning her beloved's name. At the same time, she felt guilt. What if she really was fighting a battle she couldn't win? What if everything she had with Mathdon would be cut short?

"You live for me, Math," she whispered as she recovered her weapons. "And I live for you."

Cinder unleashed another flame attack on Pyrrha, so she backflipped and threw both her weapons at the ashen-haired woman. Fortunately, this left her open to Pyrrha tackling her and then getting her in a chokehold with her sword aiming at her throat.

"I saw the way you two are together," Cinder mocked. "He seems like a sweet young man. Maybe if you weren't dating him, I could take him for myself."

Pyrrha's grip tightened around Cinder's neck. She loathed her mentioning Math's name and even implying she might take him for herself; whether it was true or just a tactic to anger her, she was unsure.

She looked out the window to see the Grimm Dragon approaching the tower, making her vulnerable to her weapon being shattered to pieces and being pushed away.

The blast destroyed the top of the tower, causing rubble to fall to the ground, leaving only large mechanical pieces, glass and other metals. Cinder appeared unscathed, but Pyrrha could tell that her Aura had taken a beating as she recovered her hoplon.

"You just don't know when to give up, do you?" Cinder asked once more. "Maybe when I'm done with you, I'll take care of Mathdon myself."

"You…" Pyrrha snarled as she stood up. "You keep your hands off my man!" She unleashed her Semblance as she threw metal after metal at Cinder, hitting her repeatedly. She then lifted all the large mechanical parts and brought them down on her opponent, but they were blasted away by Cinder's powers, pushing Pyrrha into a wall and depleting her Aura.

She recovered to throw her hoplon at Cinder, but right after she did, an arrow struck her heel. She fell to the ground, groaning in pain as she struggled to get up.

"I'm sorry, Math," she apologized. She had done it. She had fought a battle she knew she couldn't win. Was it worth it? To die now?

Her mindset changed when she saw a sharp fragment of her weapon near her, prompting her to grab it and hide it in her hand.

"It's unfortunate you were promised a power that was never truly yours," Cinder gloated. She knelt down to Pyrrha and held her chin up.

"But take comfort in knowing that I will use it in ways you could never have imagined." Pyrrha pulled away and glared at the woman responsible for all this death and destruction.

"Do you believe in destiny?" she asked. Cinder hesitated for a moment, losing her arrogant grin.

"Yes," she replied.

"I used to," Pyrrha spoke. She quickly grabbed Cinder by the back of her head and used the fragment of her weapon to slash her face before throwing her against one of the mechanical parts.

"But nothing is set in stone…and I choose not to die today."

"Pyrrha!" a voice called out. Pyrrha looked to see Ruby standing near the edge.

"Ruby?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to help you," the reaper Huntress responded. Before Pyrrha could respond, she felt a sharp pain in her torso. She looked down to see an arrow penetrating her, shot by Cinder. She fell to her knees as she gazed upon the projectile that pierced her body.

Cinder was about to shoot again, but Ruby cried out "PYRRHA!" as anbright white light engulfed everything, including the dragon.

"WHAT!?" Cinder cried out.

-0-

As Forest continued fighting against the Grimm and Iron Knights, he looked to Beacon Tower to see a bright white light engulf the top.

"I've only seen that once before," he stated. He morphed into eagle form and flew towards the tower.

Upon arriving, he saw two young girls falling from the top, one in a red hood, the other he recognized as Pyrrha Nikos with an arrow in her torso. He flew over to Pyrrha, changed back into his human form and grabbed her. He was about to do the same for Ruby, but Qrow arrived and grabbed Ruby instead. The two Huntsmen then dug their swords into the tower to slow down their descent as they approached the ground and landed safely.

"Is she okay?" Qrow asked Forest, who removed the arrow from Pyrrha's body.

"It narrowly missed her heart," he informed. "She's lucky."

"Let's get the hell out of here," the drunkard insisted. Forest immediately saw Weiss Schnee, tired from using her glyphs to help Ruby reach the top and fighting against the endless Grimm. The eagle quickly picked her up and the two Huntsmen escaped Beacon.


	23. Aftermath

**RWBY: MRRN**

 **Volume 3, Chapter 23: Aftermath**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. All rights go to Rooster Teeth.**

Beacon had fallen. The Grimm had overrun the Academy and their numbers only continued to increase. Many of the defending students were now injured or dead and the death toll of both Huntsman and civilian continued to rise.

The Atlesians and law enforcement had managed to make a secure safe zone for all the evacuees and wounded. General Ironwood oversaw the defense of the safe zone himself; sadly, with his ships and technology compromised, he knew that they were still at a huge disadvantage.

Just then, Jaune, Nora and Ren arrived in the safe zone where the medical tents were filled to the max and all the medical beds were taken, three of them belonging to Yang, Robin and Mathdon, where Nasser, Ruo and Blake were sitting. Yang had lost her arm. Robin's eyes were cut out. Math had been brutally stabbed in his arm and abdomen.

Just then, Qrow and Forest arrived at the safe zone, carrying Ruby, Pyrrha and an exhausted Weiss.

"Ruby! Weiss!" Blake cried out as she rushed over to them. Weiss stumbled onto her feet from Forest, out of breath from using her glyphs to help Ruby and fighting off the numerous Grimm. Her Faunus teammate helped her to a chair to sit down and catch her breath.

"She needs medical attention!" Forest called out, hoping someone would help him as he carried Pyrrha over to a medical bed.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune called out as he, Nora and Ren rushed over to check in on their teammate. They immediately noticed the wound in her chest, making them fearful of her life.

"She's okay," Forest assured. "The arrow narrowly missed her heart, but she'll still need medical attention."

"Over here!" a doctor called out to the eagle, having a medical bed available. Forest brought Pyrrha over to have her injuries inspected; while she would need time to recover, she would definitely live, much to everyone's relief. Once that was done, Forest hurried over to check on Math; he could tell by the blood stains that he had been stabbed in the arm and torso, but luckily, someone had seared the wounds closed to prevent him from bleeding to death.

"How is he?" a female voice asked. Forest turned around to see Corcra, who, judging by her looking exhausted, messed up clothes and spear in her hand, had been helping to fight the Grimm and Iron Knights.

"I don't know," he replied. "I just got here. Doctor!" One of the doctors walked over to him as he was called.

"How bad are his injuries?" he asked.

"He lost a lot of blood," the doctor informed solemnly. "The wound in his torso shouldn't be a problem, but the one in his arm…it may leave him unable to use it for combat."

"Can he use it at all?" Corcra questioned.

"I don't know for sure," the doctor replied. "We'll have to wait for him to wake up and see what happens."

"Robin!" a male voice called out, belonging to Anrydd, accompanied by Gwyn and Dearg. The three of them hurried over to Robin and were shocked to see the bloodied bandage covering his eyes. Reluctantly, Dearg lifted the bandage and his eyes widened in shock.

"Oh, Gods," he gasped. "What happened to him?"

"His eyes were cut out," Ruo-Jian explained. "He and I tried to hunt down the ones responsible for this, but we got separated and…"

"Will he live?" Anrydd questioned.

"The doctor assured he would," Ruo assured. "But, obviously, he'll be blind."

On the other side, Qrow had put Ruby down on a medical bed to have her inspected for injuries, but luckily, hadn't sustained any. Still, she remained unconscious.

"This is the first time she's used it," he said to himself. "It turned that dragon to stone. But that also means that as long as it's there, more and more Grimm will go to Beacon." He looked around from his seat, hoping to find Ozpin, but saw no sign of him. When he saw Goodwitch arrive at the safe zone, he stepped out of his chair and walked over to her.

"Glynda," he called out. "Have you seen Ozpin?"

"No," she replied grimly. "No one's seen him come to the safe zone."

"I'll go and check Beacon," he insisted.

"Qrow, the Grimm numbers are growing by the minute," Goodwitch informed. "It'll be too dangerous to go alone."

"Oz may still be in there," Qrow replied. "We can't just leave him."

"Then be quick," Goodwitch responded. Qrow changed into a bird and flew off in the direction of Beacon.

-0-

Math groaned as he groggily woke up, finding himself in his bed at 9:24 A.M., told by the alarm clock on his nightstand. When he tried to move his right arm, he immediately felt something keeping it from drooping down; his arm was in a sling, most likely for the wound he had received from Nachtfel.

His bed was on the far right of the green colored spacious room. A closet was on the other side where all his hanging clothes were along with tools he had used to keep Claiomh Solais and Dionach in good condition. A gray rug lay in the middle of the wooden floor where he could walk barefoot and not leave footprints.

He used his right arm to reach and grab his scroll, only feeling moderate pain from where he had been stabbed. As soon as it was in his grasp, his arm shook uncontrollably and made him drop it onto the floor. The small bit of noise was enough to alert someone and open his door, revealing his mother.

"Math!" she cried out, embracing her son in a warm embrace, which Math returned. "Are you okay?"

"For the most part," he responded. She looked down to see his scroll on the floor and picked it up to put it back on his nightstand.

"When I picked it up, my arm just shook," Math explained. "I couldn't control it."

"Your arm will need time to heal," Corcra explained. "You need rest overall. You were brought back in terrible condition. What happened?"

"I led a rescue mission to help students and faculty get out of Beacon," the swordsman answered. "We got separated and I fought Nachtfel." A thought just struck his mind.

"Safirlas!" he gasped. "Is she-?"

"She's recovering," Corcra answered, calming her son down. "But I'd say give her space for now."

"What?" he asked.

"Her team encountered Nachtfel as well," she informed. "She…she was the only survivor." Math's eyes widened.

"Medeia, Imamu, Rong…they're all dead?" he hesitantly asked.

"I'm afraid so," she confirmed grimly.

"What about my teammates?" Math asked as he laid back on his pillow. "Are they okay?"

"Robin isn't doing so well," Corcra informed. "He lost his eyes."

"What!?" he gasped loudly, almost echoing through the house.

"Calm down, Math," his mother insisted. "He's blind now."

Math's heart was feeling very heavy now. The news of the deaths of most of Team IRIS and his cousin being blinded…it was quite a lot for him to take in at once. He almost felt it was hard for him to breathe. He had hoped that they would be okay, but now knowing that they weren't weighed heavily on him as he lied there in near shock. Luckily, the sound of footsteps woke him from his state.

"Math?" Pyrrha asked as she entered, wearing pajamas.

"Pyrrha?" he asked.

"She's been staying with us," Corcra informed.

"Been?" the swordsman questioned. "How long was I out?"

"Four days," Pyrrha answered. "I just woke up yesterday."

"Are you okay?" he asked her as she sat down at the end of his bed.

"I have my own injuries to recover from," she stated. "I was shot through the heel and my chest. Luckily, it missed my heart, but we both still need time to recover. But there's something else you should know."

"What?" he asked, raising his head up with interest.

"Your sword was lost," Corcra answered. "After your fight with Nachtfel, your teammate, Nasser, carried you out, but he didn't have time to get Claiomh Solais. I don't think you'll ever get it back, to be honest; the Grimm are flooding Beacon and their numbers are growing."

"W-what?" he almost stammered. He worked long and hard on the weapon that had always served him so well. He knew that a Huntsman was never complete without their weapon; now adding that he had lost his sword as well made him slump back.

"Well, you may," Pyrrha spoke in the hopes of lightening Math's attitude. "Professor Goodwitch is organizing an effort to retake Beacon from the Grimm. Maybe you will get it back."

"But the Council needs all the Huntsmen they can get to track down the Iron Knights," Corcra brought up. "The Iron Knights are now all over the place, targeting Huntsmen, their families and anyone who supports them. They're giving Goodwitch very few Huntsmen to work with. She's having to rely mostly on student volunteers, including Nasser."

"Nasser?" Math asked, then another thought struck him. "Where are Nasser and Ruo now?"

"Nasser's helping his family find a new home since theirs was destroyed last night," Pyrrha informed. "Ruo left this letter for you." She picked up an envelope from Math's nightstand, hidden behind the alarm clock and pulled it out for Math to read. Instead of reaching with his right hand this time, Math reached with his left and began to read it.

" _Math,_

 _By the time you read this, I will already be gone. I'm staying at Patch to help Yang recover from the loss of her arm. She's not taking it very well, especially since Weiss's father forced her to come back to Atlas and Blake is nowhere to be found. I want to help her recover from this, even if she doesn't want to accept that she needs help. I'll make sure to write you and the others when I can since the CCT is down and I cannot call you. Make sure to recover well. I hope to see you in good shape again._

 _Your teammate and brother,_

 _Ruo-Jian Bai Hu."_

"He's on Patch," Math spoke as he placed the letter back on his nightstand. Suddenly, Corcra's scroll started to vibrate, indicating that she was receiving a call from someone. She opened it and answered it as she left the room.

"How are you doing, Pyrrha?" Math asked as he reached out to touch her hand.

"Math…" she whispered. "There's something I need to tell you." Math raised an eyebrow.

"What is it?" he asked.

"The machine…" Pyrrha started. "Ozpin approached me during the Fall of Beacon after you had gone on your rescue mission. When I refused to take the powers…he…" Pyrrha covered her face as a tear ran down her cheek. Math sat up, a serious look on his face.

"What did he do?" he demanded to know.

"He…he tried to force the Maiden powers on me," she cried as she hugged Math. "He…he…" She let the tears roll down her cheeks at how the professor she had trusted would do something like this to her.

Math held Pyrrha tightly with his left arm to comfort her, but his facial reaction was different. It was a mix of betrayal and rage at Ozpin, the Headmaster he had trusted before the mission up north when Alan Kura was killed. To hear that he had tried to force the Maiden powers on her, which could've killed her, made his blood boil.

"Pyrrha," he spoke, trying to lose the angered expression on his face. The redhead kept crying into his shoulder, showing how traumatic and betrayed she was at this moment. She was very close to losing everything she had found…all because Ozpin lied to her about there being a choice.

"I'm sorry," she tearfully apologized as she pulled back and saw the tear stains on his shirt.

"Don't worry about it," he responded as she snuggled up to him while being careful not to hurt his arm.

"What do you plan to do?" he asked her. "Go back to Mistral?"

"Not yet," she answered. "I'm staying here with you, to help you recover." Math looked at his girlfriend as he held her, surprised by what she just said.

"But what about your family?" he asked her. "They may get worried."

"I wrote them a letter yesterday," she informed. "It's on its way to Argus now."

"Argus?" Math asked.

"A large city in northern Mistral, probably the largest non-capital city in Remnant," Pyrrha explained. "That's the part of Mistral I'm from. But for now…can we just…lay here and…you hold me?"

Math nodded his head as he held Pyrrha closely to him, doing what they could to comfort each other after the very traumatic night. While Pyrrha's scowl was one of sadness, Math's turned back to one of anger.

"Ozpin, you bastard," he thought. "How dare you do this to her! You had no right to force the Maiden powers on her! If I ever see you again…" Pyrrha's movement shook him out of his thoughts as she moved her head to rest on his shoulder.

When she turned her head to face him, he could see that her eyes were still stained with tears. The fact that Ozpin would force this on her when she adamantly said no did a number on her emotional state. She was suffering just as he was.

For now, they needed each other. He held her close as the two just laid there. When Corcra came back, she saw the sight and smiled before going to the living room to give them some space.

-0-

"How's Math?" Forest asked Glaucus as they sat at a table around the corner of an abandoned café.

"He's recovering," the Gray Wanderer informed. "But Corcra told me that whenever he grabs anything with his arm, it shakes uncontrollably. He won't be able to hold a sword for a long time and there's no telling how long his arm will be unstable."

"And Pyrrha's staying with him?" Forest asked.

"She is," Glaucus answered. "She needs to recover as well. You saved her life, Forest."

"I'm just happy her wounds weren't fatal," the eagle replied. "Do you really think Nachtfel has left Vale?"

"He hasn't been seen ever since the Fall of Beacon," Glaucus informed. "It's probable Salem is turning her attention to one of the other kingdoms."

"And that's not the worst part," the eagle added. "With Beacon destroyed, the Iron Knights' morale is higher than ever. They'll have no problem gaining new recruits outside and inside the kingdoms."

"So what do you plan to do?" Glaucus asked.

"Sterling, Ruadh and I will track down Nachtfel and stop him," Forest explained. "He is the head of the Iron Knight army. Cut him down, along with his commanders, and the Iron Knights will be divided and leaderless."

"Forest," Glaucus addressed. "Before you leave, there's something I feel like you should know."

"What is it?" Glaucus proceeded to explain everything before the Fall of Beacon. Asking Mathdon to join their cause and Pyrrha to take the Maiden powers, him being cut out of the meeting, his suggestion to ask for Forest's help…everything. Needless to say, Forest didn't take it well.

"That lying son of a bitch!" he snarled. "He had no right do this to them!"

"I was going to tell them the truth," Glaucus informed.

"It's not you I doubt," Forest replied. "It's Ozpin. How can we expected to trust him when he won't do the same for those who follow him?"

"When he comes, he'll certainly have a lot of explaining to do," Glaucus agreed. "But we cannot focus on that right now. I will stay here to track down any remaining Iron Knights. If you discover if they're planning to attack anywhere else, please let me know."

"If I have good enough reception, I will," Forest assured. "You be careful." He then morphed into his eagle form and flew off to find his teammates.

-0-

Robin sat there at the couch, blankly facing the wall of the second floor of his house, wearing a new bandage over his eyes.

He hated this. He hated not being able to see. He hated that he had been robbed of his Semblance because of his eyes being cut out by Emerald. He didn't know how to react to this other than pure anger and despair.

"Hey, Robin," a female voice addressed, belonging to Coco. "I came to see how you were."

"How do you think I am?" Robin asked bluntly, still looking in the same direction. "My eyes were cut out, meaning I've also lost my Semblance. How am I-?"

"Stop it," Coco interrupted. "I came here to check on you, not be yelled at. But I can tell that you're not doing well."

"No, I'm not," Robin spoke, standing up. "Without my eyes, I can't use my bow anymore. My days as a Huntsman could be over."

"Maybe not," Coco insisted. "There are plenty of Huntsmen and Huntresses out there who are blind, deaf, don't have a limb…yet they still keep doing what they enjoy."

Robin didn't say anything. All he knew was that he had lost the most vital part of his fighting style and the core of his Semblance: his eyes. He didn't just go blind, they were slashed out of his head. He didn't want to hear any of this sympathy, not now.

"Just go," Robin demanded.

"What?" Coco asked.

"Just go," he repeated louder. "I don't want this sympathy crap right now."

"Robin, I know you're mad-"

"GET OUT!" the archer shouted.

Coco's eyes widened at him. She understood that he was dealing heavily with the loss of his sight and suspected that he would be angry at the least, but he wouldn't even hear her out. She walked over to him to put her hand on his shoulder, but as soon as she did, he immediately shook it off.

"You know what, Robin?" Coco spoke. "You can be real selfish sometimes." She then started to walk off, but Robin wasn't about to let her have the last say.

"Well, excuse me, but from what I can tell, you still have your eyes," he spoke angrily. "You still have your Semblance. You're not risking being a burden to your teammates-"

"Get over yourself!" Coco interrupted once more. "Math was injured too. He can't grab anything with his arm without it shaking uncontrollably. Pyrrha was almost killed and she's having trouble walking since she was shot in the heel. And Velvet…" She felt tears run down her eyes.

"Velvet is dead." Robin lost his angry expression as he felt sympathy for his girlfriend. Before he could ask, he heard Coco walking down the stairs and leave the house.

He sat back down on the couch, angry at himself for pushing Coco away in blind bitterness and rage. She had been patient with him during the Dearg situation, but it seemed that she had hit her limit with his tendency to be selfish when hurt.

"What can I do?" he wondered as he sunk his face into his hands.

-0-

Winter had come around and things didn't seem any better. It could be felt all throughout the city of Vale. No one knew who to trust, Vale had no way of contacting the other kingdoms and Ironwood had pulled out all his forces, greatly weakening the kingdom.

"Just the way we want it," Salem smirked as she sat at the long table with her lieutenants: Dr. Arthur Watts, Tyrian Callows, Hazel Rainart…and the wounded Cinder Fall.

"You've done well, Cinder," the Grimm Queen congratulated. "Now, that Beacon has fallen, Haven is next." Just then, the doors opened to show Valkoin and Nachtfel enter. The demon warrior just looked forward to see Salem at the head of the table.

"You're his master?" he asked.

"My name is Salem," she introduced. "We heard about your efforts at Beacon. Well done."

"Why have you invited me here?" Nachtfel asked.

"First, take off your helmet," she commanded. The demon paused for a moment. He had rarely ever taken off his helmet with people around; he didn't want to, but he could sense that she was very dangerous, so he reluctantly complied.

His complexion was fair, his hair black, long and reaching his shoulders with a small goatee and golden eyes. He appeared quite young, definitely no older than thirty years old, despite his height and experience in killing veteran Huntsmen much older than him.

"What's your real name?" she asked curiously. Nachtfel remained quiet for a few moment, which angered Tyrian.

"Answer her question or I'll kill you myself!" he threatened.

"Tyrian, that won't be necessary," she assured. Right away, Tyrian backed down.

"My real name…is…Aaron. Aaron Nox Caelo."

"Aaron Nox Caelo," Salem repeated. "And why do you hate the Huntsmen so much?"

"Because they took everything away from me," Nachtfel answered. "I want them to pay for they've done."

"I, too, know what's like to have everything taken away," Salem explained. "That is why I asked Valkoin to bring you here."

"Why's that?" Nachtfel asked.

"I want you to be a part of my inner circle," Salem replied. "You have become a vital part of our plan to victory. We need your Knights."

"With respect, I'm not doing this for you," Nachtfel responded. "I'm doing this for my Knights. My place is with them. I have a promise to keep to them."

"And you'll fulfill it," Salem assured. "But I…I can make it absolute."

"What do you mean by that?" Nachtfel questioned.

"Do you really think you can destroy all the Huntsmen by yourselves?" the Grimm Queen questioned. "You may hunt down the majority of them, but there will be some who will always manage to escape your wrath. Your way means hunting down MOST of the Huntsmen, but my way means destroying ALL the Huntsmen."

Nachtfel loved the sound of that, but he wasn't blind. He knew odds are Salem viewed him as just as a pawn, which he suspected from the start.

But she had a point. If left to him and his Knights, there would always be some Huntsmen who evade their grasp, meaning that there would always be hope of their return. Salem seemed powerful…and if she said she could ensure the deaths of all Huntsmen, then he would definitely love that.

"Very well," he conceded and knelt. "I will serve you as best I can." Salem smiled, now that she had one of the most feared warriors at her command.

"Sit with us," she gestured. "We have work to do."

-0-

Glynda had started to recruit more people for her mission to retake Beacon eight days after its fall. It would be arduous and long, but the Relic of Choice was still in Beacon. She couldn't simply abandon it to the Grimm and worse, Salem.

As she was walking by herself, she heard wings flapping. She at first thought it was Qrow and was surprised since he was on Patch; when she looked up, instead of a black bird, she saw a Vacuo Golden Eagle. It flew towards the ground and then morphed into Forest Kotka...who did not look happy.

"Forest?" she asked.

"How dare you," he snarled. "How dare you do this to Math and Pyrrha!"

Glynda's eyes widened. Somehow, Forest had learned about the group recruiting Mathdon Kendrick and Pyrrha Nikos to their faction. There was only one person she felt who would've told him: Glaucus.

"What did he tell you?" she asked.

"Enough," Forest answered. "What right did you have to force this onto them?"

"We didn't force anything," Glynda claimed. "We gave them a choice."

"Don't lie to me!" Forest barked. "You were considering forcing the powers on Pyrrha. Everything Ozpin did, you agreed with."

"We were desperate," Glynda replied defensively. "We had to do something. Ozpin did what he felt was right."

"Ozpin was a hypocrite and a liar," the eagle proclaimed. "He said she had a choice, but if she refused, you would've forced them onto her. For wanting to keep people safe, he has no problem sending others to fight his war for him. I'd expect Ironwood and Qrow to be okay with this, but not you, Glynda." Glynda's eyes narrowed at the eagle who just disrespected her friend.

"Ozpin was flawed, yes," she admitted. "But he did the best he could. You are wrong to disrespect his memory."

"And you are wrong to force others into this conflict without letting them know what they're truly up against," Forest shot back. "Glaucus suggested other plans of action, but you and Ozpin ignored them all. And look happened."

"Are you saying that Beacon being destroyed is our fault?" Glynda questioned.

"Partially," Forest answered. "All you did was sit on your hands, put all the pressure on Pyrrha and do nothing to confront the threat who was right under your nose while they carried out their plan. Ozpin did that just because he can't stand others being in charge."

"He did it to avoid the risk of panic," Glynda defended. "Vale was already on edge as it was."

"Because of Ironwood preaching about trust, then stabbing everyone in the back because of Ozpin doing nothing," Forest pointed out. "Open your eyes, Glynda! We're just pawns to Ozpin." Glynda glared at the eagle with anger.

"You're wrong," she denied.

"You think I'm biased?" Forest asked. " I served him for years just as you did. I've seen the way he acts. I've seen how he runs this group. He does not care about us, he only cares about winning at any cost as long as he's not the one paying it."

"Forest!" Sterling called out. When he approached, he could immediately tell that tensions were up with the way Forest and Glynda glared at each other.

"We're ready to head out," the Snow Fox Faunus informed.

"I'm on my way," Forest replied. He made direct eye contact with Glynda as if ready to issue a threat.

"You and Ozpin have put those two through enough. Leave them be. They are not your expendable pawns...and neither are those who will help you retake Beacon." Forest morphed into his eagle form and flew off to find Sterling and Ruadh.

"Prick," Glynda whispered. "Ozpin..."

 **Volume 3 of the MRRN series has come to an end! As before, the next Volume will be a separate book! I will make sure to put up a notice when it is up! The adventures of Team MRRN are nowhere near done, so make sure to follow and favorite! Enjoy, my fellow writers!**


	24. Volume 4 Notice

**Author's Note:**

 **I've just now uploaded MRRN Volume 4! Make sure to keep reading to continue the adventures of Team MRRN! Make sure to favorite and follow!**


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